Gangetic Bengal has always been known as the abode of some goddess who is the epitome of “Shakti”. The place where the Kalighat temple of Goddess Kali is located has been known as an energy centre from time immemorial. Tantric texts identify a good part of the city of Kolkata as a place that belongs to the goddess Kali. Goddess Durga started to be worshipped by people following the discovery of the feet of Goddess “Sati” from Kalikunda pond in the same area. In all the Puranas, there is a reference to worshipping the Goddess of Shakti along the banks of the river Ganges in Bengal. Even some archaeological discoveries corroborate this. There is not much difference between goddess Durga and goddess Kali. Both are goddesses of Shakti. Goddess Kali is believed to have emerged from the angry forehead of goddess Durga. This anger culminated in the destruction of Mahishasura, the ultimate evil power. However, the image of goddess Durga appeals more to the psyche of common Bengalis. They always find in Goddess Durga someone who is motherly and always loves, protects, nourishes, and comforts. To the very elderly among the devotees, goddess Durga is also like a loving daughter who visits her paternal home once a year, only for four days. So, Bengalis long to see their mother and be with her during these four days and find it difficult to be elsewhere.

This spirit of worshipping a goddess of Shakti who also protects from enemies and diseases has been going on for hundreds of years, and each new generation of Bengal grows up with the vibes of Durga Puja. This is ingrained in the system of Bengalis so much that you can never separate them from the emotions of Durga Puja. Today’s educated Bengalis are modernised and westernised, but that has not stopped them from loving and worshipping Goddess Durga.

Durga Puja is much beyond religiosity.

While Durga Puja is a deeply religious festival of the Hindus in general and Bengalis in particular, this festival is not just about an elaborate set of rituals. It is a festival of homecoming, a quick visit to childhood, and a few days of unadulterated joy. Even when Bengalis are unable to come to Bengal during Durga Puja, they try to worship Goddess Durga by bringing the idols from Kumortuli (a place where the clay idols are made by hand by artisans) and priests from Bengal, and then create a Bengal-like atmosphere wherever they live. That’s why there are numerous Durga Pujas across the country and even outside India.

For those staying outside Bengal to pursue some occupation, an effort is always there to come home for a few days during Pujas. The number of such people is huge. Since Bengal is not able to give quality employment in large numbers, the people settle outside their state under compulsion. But, during Durga Puja, they long to come back to their roots, spend some leisure parents, siblings, and old friends. Those with abundant energy go for pandal hopping for the whole night. Nobody cares who is rich and who is poor. All throng to the pandals, devour delectable Bengali food dishes together, and become equally sad when the Puja days are over and the idols of Durga are immersed. The memories of each Puja are etched so much into their minds that they grow up and become old, cherishing these memories of the Pujas they have spent with their near and dear ones.

Durga Puja is a visit to our childhood. We started loving this Puja when we were young kids. We used to get new clothes well before Mahalaya (the day Goddess Durga is invoked by devotees to come to earth). We used to wear traditional Bengali attire on Mahashtami (the third day of celebration) and offer Anjalis (offering of flowers) to the goddess with the fullest sincerity and devotion. Even today, from no other source, do we get that kind of joy, no matter where we live, what we eat, and what we wear, as we develop socially and economically. So, we try to get back the joy we once got in life. We try to meet childhood friends and our first loves (the loves that never fructified). We are always accepted by these friends, no matter what we do now or how we look now at these advanced ages. Their spouses may be of different types, but the friends remain as friends forever since these friendships were strengthened through the occasion of Durga Puja. They still call us to offer Pushpanjali (offering flowers to the deity after chanting hymns in Sanskrit) together, eat simple Prasadam together, and enjoy cultural programs (performed mostly by homegrown artists) together. Even they like to go for adda at old tea stalls or book shops which are now in dilapidated condition. These are priceless feelings. One gets these feelings only during the Pujas. They become schoolboys and girls again, even if they now have their own school-going kids. Even at sixty-three, you feel like a thirteen-year-old boy.

Durga Puja is special for a few more reasons. There are people like us who collect the Puja Number of a literary magazine and keep on reading the novels, short stories, and poems during the mornings and afternoons. This has been my habit since childhood, when I used to get a copy of Anandamela (a popular Puja magazine for children) or Kishore Bharati. In the evenings, friends still discuss what they have read and why everyone should read that. The same novels can be read anytime after the Puja, and the Puja Numbers are available at a discounted price as well. But it is a different feeling to read the Puja Numbers during Puja days and narrating the stories to others.

Each Bengali reputed singer releases new songs on the occasion of Durga Puja and expects the songs to be heard and admired by the targeted audience. These songs are played in Puja Mandaps (pandals) everywhere, and people sing along with the singer when the songs are played. Bengali culture gets a fresh lease of life during the Puja days when “Agamani” songs (the devotional songs that are in praise of Goddess Durga) are heard, artists show their skills in designing the themes of Pujas and Puja Mandaps, and typical Bengali cuisine is served in eateries.

The old and decaying houses of Bengal, in general, and Kolkata, in particular, try to get a new look when colourful lights hang over their uncared-for houses (because of a lack of enough money to maintain old houses) and young men and women come out of these poorly maintained houses wearing new clothes. Even the slums look quite gorgeous as the dwellers are no longer seen quarrelling or moving around in shabby clothes.

Puja is Special to each individual of Bengal for special reasons

I have mentioned some common reasons why Puja is considered special for each Bengali. In the same breath, I must say that those non-Bengalis who have stayed in Bengal for years and make it a point to stay only in Bengal during the Puja carry almost similar feelings. However, Puja holds special significance for different people for various personal reasons.

For me, Durga Puja is special for two very personal reasons. One, I fell in love with a charming girl during one Durga Puja only. That love could not reach its logical end, though. My family was too conservative and possessive, and her family, too, was not very progressive. But those moments of emotion and excitement still linger in me. When I visit a puja pandal, I look for someone who has been lost forever. Two, I remember a Shashthi (the very first day of Puja) evening when a close friend of mine suddenly presented me with a new Somehow, he came to know that I had not gotten new clothes on the occasion of Puja due to some reason which I am not mentioning here. I still look for that friend of mine who has also been lost from my life. I don’t know where he lives or how he is now (he had serious eye-related problems). He never married for the reasons best known to him. But whenever I buy new clothes for my family, I fondly remember the day when I was able to come out in new clothes because of a friend who knew me better than I knew myself.

Durga Puja enables the Bengalis to become the best versions of themselves. That makes the festival great. Even for a few days, the city becomes totally different emotionally. You can feel the difference if you spend the Puja days in a Bengali para. I believe the root of all good things in a Bengali life is Durga Puja. And it will remain so. 

.    .    .