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Here Comes Pujo!

By Brishti Bandyopadhyay; Illustration by Shiju George

Durga Puja is the most important festival for the people of West Bengal, the Eastern Indian state that has been home to three Nobel Laureates - Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, and Mother Teresa - as well as Oscar awardee Satyajit Ray.

Durga Puja, or Pujo as it is usually referred to, ushers in a sense of well-being, with Diwali following close on its heels. The timing is just right: the sweltering heat, and the post-monsoon humidity gives way to Sharat or autumn.

In rural India, the pace of life is more relaxed because the new crop is just coming up. There's a freshness in the air and the belief is that even nature is keen to welcome the goddess from her heavenly home to earth, her maternal home.

The Puja falls in the period that's celebrated as Navaratri (nine nights) in most parts of India, that herald the most festive season in India. The Puja starts from the day of Bodhon , when the goddess is welcomed on earth.

The group festivities begin on the sixth day, and continue till the navami or the ninth day. Durga's stay on earth comes to an end on the dashami or the 10th day, when the goddess' clay idol is immersed in the Ganga. She goes back to her heavenly home.

The Puja means many things to the Bengali. It means ritual and worship, of course. But more than that, the pujo is a chance to rediscover old sights, sounds and smells - the open blue sky, the golden sunshine, the special Dhunuchi nachh or dance, the mild fragrance of white Shiuli flowers, and the delicious vegetarian bhog or feast!

The Legend of Mahishasura
The Puja celebrates the legend of the defeat and death of buffalo-demon, Mahishasura, at the hands of goddess Durga.

After much penance, the demon had procured a boon from Lord Brahma, granting that he could not be slain by gods, men, spirits or any aspect of nature. Convinced that nothing could destroy him now, he tyrannised the entire world, vanquished the gods and ruled in their place.

The gods appealed to Lord Shiva for help. He suggested that the three great gods in the Hindu Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and himself - should combine their energies to create a woman.

She would be powerful enough to vanquish the demon, as he had foolishly forgotten to name women while asking for the boon. The three gods then combined their energies to create Durga, a beautiful woman with 18 arms. Each god presented her with his special weapon and a lion was to be her vehicle.

When Mahishasura heard of Durga's beauty, he wished to marry her and sent across a proposal. Durga replied that she would marry him on the condition that he defeated her in battle first.

Enraged, Mahishasura accepted the challenge and a fierce battle ensued. Durga sliced off his head in the course of the battle. Flowers rained on the goddess as the gods rejoiced.

Legend has it that Shiva declared that the ninth day of the bright half of the month of Ashvina in the Hindu calendar (which falls in October) would be celebrated as the great day of victory of good over evil.

When Durga visits her maternal home
There's another charming legend why the puja is celebrated. According to local belief, Durga comes to the earth, her parental home, during this time. She arrives on the sixth day of the month and returns to her heavenly home on the 10th day. For the four days that she is here, however, she is welcomed and honored as a family would its married daughter.