So sorry we have been so out of touch. We have had very little access to the Internet, but have been able to upload pictures. Now for the stories behind them...
After we left Chennai, we went to Calcutta to celebrate Durga Puja with my dad's extensive family. Durga puja is the largest puja celebrated in West Bengal. Community organizations prepare huge and colorful pandals which is a themed house. These temporary foam and cloth structures inside hold the elaborately decorated pratimas, or idols, and outside play host to a small carnival. The streets are lighted all around the pandal to guide the public. The thing to do during the main four days of the festival is to walk around touring pandals with your friends or family all night long (literally, our driver did not come back in the morning after pandal hopping all night). Like Mardi Gras where the question of the day is "which parades have you seen?", in Calcutta during Durga puja, it's "how many pandals have you visited?"
As with the Ganesh pratimas in Gujarat, the pandals for the Durga puja are all involved in fierce competition for prizes given away by the newspaper organizations and the city. Some even have political messages - one had a figure of Bush holding a missile while nearly being attacked by a lion. Durga was standing on the earth to symbolize peace. I believe this was in reference to the now-stalled US-India nuclear pact which the government of West Bengal, the Communist party, oppose out of solidarity with China. Anyway, all were great fun.
There are religious ceremonies that take place daily by the pandit (priest). on the 4th day, called Asthami, devotees assemble for a complex ceremony that occurs at a time prescribed by the astrologers. This year, it was 8:27 PM on Thursday the 18th. During the 45 minutes after 8:27, Durga will appear for a split second in the form of the pratima. Anyone seeing her at this time will have their prayers answered. It was actually an electrifying experience being among so many people who believed that they would see their beloved goddess come alive before their eyes in the form of the decorated Durga pratima. There is nothing I have witness in Christianity that could compare to the excitement of this part of the puja.
After this most holy period, then anyone can touch the pratima, not just the pandit. On the 5th day of the puja, the pratima is loaded on a truck and brought to be immersed in the Ganges, with great fanfare and sorrow. I am sure that even Bush is holding his missile at the bottom of this muddy river.
More to come soon. Please leave some comments!
-Nisha
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2 comments:
Hi Nisha,
while surfing internet casually I found and read your blogs....
I am a bengali born and brought up in Calcutta, the city of joy. I found your blogs regarding the city and the puja (including the details) very charming. It also helps me to understand how the city is in the eye of a foreigner. Now I am residing in Denver, Colorado, and as this is the tme of Durga Puja..missing home immensely! Neverthless it's fun to enjoy pujas in associations at the other part of the world.
Keep on writing....
You can drop me mails: debashreeh@gmail.com
Regards,
Debashree
Glad you liked the post! I love Calcutta and have been there 4 times to visit family. Though not the most easiest city for travelers, I hope I have done my part to encourage more foreigners to travel there because it is a shame that is it often overlooked on many tourist routes. I cannot wait to go back for the next Durga puja as well, though it may be awhile. Thanks for reading!!
Nisha
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