With the Kumartuli artisans making Maa Durga idols come to life, Bengali streets witnessing the footfalls of ardent shoppers, pandals being erected in every nook and corner, hoardings being hung in every major street and lane, with Kolkatans gearing up for the biggest festival of the year, Mahalaya and Durga Puja have arrived.
However, there has been a break in the rhythm of this year’s Durga puja with the cry for justice everywhere in regards to the R G Kar rape-murder case.
With the advent of Durga puja the hope that Maa will bring justice with her is a trailblazing light for the masses who are spending their days and nights on the road seeking justice, for Maa Durga embodies the win of good over evil.
In every Bengali’s heart, the countdown of Durga Puja slowly attenuates from the morning of Mahalaya- the day Maa Durga is thought to start her journey from Mount Kailash, leaving behind her husband’s abode to descend upon the mortal world.
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For the Hindu community, Mahalaya holds a deep, purposeful significance- this day marks the end of the Pitri Paksha (period of mourning) and the onset of Devi Paksha. On this day, individuals remember their ancestors and offer Tarpan, bidding farewell and praying for their soul’s peaceful rest.
According to folklore and myths, Maa Durga was created on this day to end the demon king Mahishasura. Mahishasura was an ardent worshiper and devotee of Lord Brahma, who granted him the wish that no god or human would ever be able to kill him. Gaining this boon, he wreaked havoc to which all the Devtas prayed to the Adi Shakti. According to myth, a divine light came out of the Devtas- a source of collective energy that embodied their inner power and created Maa Durga.
However, for the Bengali community, Mahalaya is the prelude to the Durga puja celebration, which begins with Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s ‘Mahisasurmardini’. Everyone wakes up in the wee hours, even before dawn and sets the radio from which Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s recorded baritone voice recites the different slokas and mantras, which engulfs the heart of the people and transforms it into a canvas which gets filled with the colours of festivities.
Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s voice first resonated through Akashvani in 1931; however, from the year 1958, a pre-recorded version was aired. Mahalaya is also the day when Kumartuli artisans draw the eyes of Maa Durga after performing a special puja.
Durga puja starts roughly seven days after Mahalaya with Maha-Saptami, followed by Maha-Ashtami, Maha-Nabami and finally Vijayadashami- a day filled with melancholy that Maa Durga would be going back and the continuous hopeful chant of- ‘Asche Bochor Abar Hobe’.