kamalparu

Oct 22, 20203 min read

Grandeur of ‘Durga Puja’– at Kolkata & Mysuru

Updated: Oct 9

Grandeur of ‘Durga Puja’– at Kolkata & Mysuru

'MAA DURGA' - Aadishakti - Goddess of power

Jai Ambe Jagdambe Bhawani

MAA KALYANI

Mahisasuramaradini panel at Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu)

· ‘Durga Puja’ - one of the biggest festival of ‘ Bharat’ , is celebrated across the country in different form & style. It is the time when we invoke goddess ‘ Durga’ to bless us with divine power.

· ‘Garba’ in Gujrat, ‘Kullu Dussehra’ in Himachal Pradesh, ‘Jagran’ , ‘Ram-leela’ , ‘Ravan-dahan’ in North India , ‘Mysuru Dasara’ in Karnataka – all are different forms of celebration of this festivity.

· But the grand scale on which ‘Durga Pujo’ is celebrated in Bengal and particularly in Kolkata is unparallel and unprecedented. It is the time when we can witness the big, decorated puja pandals , beautiful idols of goddess Durga along with other deities, song & dance program, family get-together & dinning out, ‘adda’ with friends, spectacular lighting along streets, natural happiness on face of one & all, self – controlled crowd movement among pandals (say pandal hopping) and overall divine & enthusiastic ambiance all- around. People enjoy ‘Dhunuchi dance’ with sound of ‘Dhak’ in puja pandals which is a unique feature of 'pujo' in Bengal.

In year 2021, 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' has been included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' of UNESCO.

· Here glimpses of Durga puja at Kolkata and Dasara at Mysuru have been displayed pictorially to present a feel of celebration and have visual delight. Let’s have a virtual tour through our lens.

Brief about Durga Puja celebration at Kolkata

· Making of goddess idols start about 2 to 3 months before puja. ‘Kumhartoli’ - a traditional sculptors’ locality on the bank of river Hoogly in North Kolkata, is the main area where idols are made on large scale. Idols are transported to puja pandals through narrow lanes of Kumhartoli using bamboo batons.

Making of idols at Kumhartoli, Kolkata

Idols of Maa Durga inside puja pandals at Kolkata

· Erection of puja pandals begins with ‘Khunti Puja’ at the actual place of celebration.

· A number of major puja in different localities known as ‘ sarbojanin puja’ are managed by local clubs. The concept, design and creation of idols and pandals are normally based on unique theme ,heritage , nature or major national / international events and many more. This process takes about 6 months to 1 year time period. We can view the high quality and sophistication in artistic work by visiting puja pandal throughout night.

Magnificent puja pandals at Kolkata

Brief about Mysuru Dasara

Mysuru Dasara

· It is believed that celebrating ‘Dasara’ with public participation was initiated by the famous ‘ Wadiyar’ kings of Mysuru.

· Goddess ‘Chamundeshwari’ is worshiped on this occasion which is revered as goddess Durga.

· Local folk song & dances, mask dances, decorated elephant, camel & horse parade, music and lighting, fireworks - all happen inside ‘Mysuru Palace’ compound. It is a grand occasion and spectacular display of culture. This is the time when king interact with common people and celebrate the joy of festival together.