On a day, several thousands gather for tarpan on Mahalaya early morning on the Damodar river bank in Hirapur, West Burdwan, a little distance away people of the nearby Dhenua village remain busy organising the one-day Durga Puja.
For 47 years, the Dhenua Sarbojanin Durga Puja, under Asansol Municipal Corporation, is the only Durga Puja which is held on the day of Mahalaya.
“Perhaps this is the only Durga Puja, which is a one-day event and is organised every year on the day of Mahalaya and the idol of Goddess Durga is immersed in the Damodar on the same night,” said Shyamal Majhi, a local villager.
Some 200-odd villagers of Dhenua remain busy in organising their puja.
This nondescript village, Dhenua, situated at the remotest corner of riverside, near the steel township of Burnpur, organises the puja at the Kali Krishna Ashram.
This puja may not have the glamour and the grandeur of other big-budget theme pujas in the industrial town of Asansol but still has its own identity.
Jyotin Maharaj, the president of the Ashram, said that about 47 years ago, his grandfather Tejananda Brahmachari received directives from the goddess Durga in his dream. From that year, he started the daylong Durga Puja in Dhenua.
Since then, each year, on Mahalaya, first Kali is worshipped for about two hours. Then, the idol of goddess Durga begins. All the rituals of the four-day Durga Puja take place in one day, and just after sunset the idol is immersed.
After the Dashami Puja, sweets are distributed among the residents and the villagers visit each other’s house to celebrate Vijaya Dashami.
In the Dhenua Sarbojanin Durga Puja, goddess Durga is worshipped along with her four children. However, no mahisasur idol is in place.
Even the idol is prepared and finished on a day before the Durga Puja on Mahalaya. The colour of the idol is the colour of fire.
Sasadhar Mondal, a villager said that earlier, there was communication problem due to bad roads, but nowadays bus services have started and roads are good, which allows people to come from even Asansol town.