‘Ma’ arrives amid chaos : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

‘Ma’ arrives amid chaos

Durga Puja in Bengal is an occasion where all barriers of caste and religion have been broken. Not this time, though. Politics and religiosity have ensured the celebrations make noises about exclusivist identity-ism

‘Ma’ arrives amid chaos

Daze of the goddess: An electrician hangs decorative lights on an idol of the goddess Durga at a pandal (a temporary platform) for the upcoming festival of Durga Puja in Kolkata. REUTERS



Shubhadeep Choudhury in Kolkata

The festival marquee of the country is such that something as adorable and displayable as Durga Puja has come into the dissonance of religiosity. The Calcutta High Court on Thursday had to intervene in a matter considered purely celebratory for some and somber and solemn for the others. The court lifted the curbs on Durga Puja immersion imposed by the West Bengal government, allowing it till 12 am on all days including on Muharram day. The court asked the police to designate separate routes for the puja immersion and  tazia procession on the Muharram in the city and ensure adequate security for the both the occasions. 

The government had banned idol immersion after 10 pm on September 30,  Dashami, when the puja ends. The Muslim community will mark Muharram on October 1.

There was a report about an attack by a mob on a salon run by Jawed Habib in an Uttar Pradesh town. The mob was allegedly enraged by an advertisement that showed goddess Durga and her entourage getting beauty treatment at a Jawed Habib salon during their mythological visit to the earth. 

The illustration on the cover page of the latest puja issue of Anandamela, a popular Bengali periodical for children published by the ABP Group, could also arouse the anger of the louts who vandalised the Jawed Habib salon. 

The concept of the Durga Puja may be all about war and the concept may well have a historical basis. Legend has it that the present-day Mysore city (known as Mahisur in the bygone days) was the capital of the demon king Mahishasura slain by goddess Durga.

But for the average Bengali Hindu, the four-day Durga puja is the occasion when the goddess leaves her abode at Kailash and visits her parents with her children. Vijaya Dashami is celebrated in certain parts of the country as the day when the demon king Ravana was slain by Lord Ram. For the Bengali Hindus, it’s a day of grief. The Durga idols are immersed that day symbolising her return to Kailash. Bengali Hindus are overtaken by grief since they have to bid adieu to the “Ma” and start a long wait for her arrival again the next year.

Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has tweeted a photograph which has made an impression on her. The picture shows a Muslim man stitching the goddess’s clothes sitting near the idol in a community puja venue. Amrita Mukherjee, a freelance journalist, has mentioned in one of her articles about a Durga puja in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Kolkata where the rituals are performed by a Muslim priest! Though this story could not be independently verified, Muslims are found associated with a many community pujas of West Bengal. 

For instance, Firhad Hakim, West Bengal urban development and municipal affairs minister, is the president of Chetla Agrani Club, a premier Durga puja committee of Kolkata. Javed Ahmed Khan, another member of the Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet of West Bengal, is the chief patron of the decades-old Babubagan Sarbojonin Puja Committee in Dhakuria in Kolkata.

In Guwahati, the capital of Assam, Nuruddin Ahmed, who makes a living as art director in Assamese movies and Assamese mobile theatres, was in charge of building the tallest Durga idol (110 ft) which would have found a place in the Guinness book. But the dream of the organisers of the puja of the Bengali majority Bishnupur area of Guwahati was dashed when the under-construction idol came crashing down during a storm. 

Affluent Bengalis perform Durga puja at their homes, but the credit for breaking the narrow caste or religious barriers in the course of celebrating the puja goes to the public (“sarbojonin”) pujas organised with funds mobilised through door-to-door collections.

In Kolkata, supporters of communist parties set up stalls outside puja venues and sell books which are a far cry from religion.

Outside Bengal, the Durga puja venues turn out to be places for celebration of Bengali culture. Bengali fish, chicken and mutton dishes, clothes, books and music are sold to visitors. Rich puja committees arrange performance by popular singers who belt out hit songs.

“Fun is an integral part of most Hindu festivals and Durga Puja is one of them. The neo-fanatics in the country want us to abandon the fun part and make religious events a grim affair. Fun is not allowed, but violence is welcome in this scheme of things”, says Ranjit Das, poet and recipient of the prestigious Rabindra Puraskar.

Top News

Relief for Delhi CM, High Court bins plea for his ouster

Relief for Delhi CM, High Court bins plea for his ouster

Special court extends Kejriwal’s ED custody till April 1