Thursday, Dec 20 2007

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Source: Free Press Journal West Bengal When the rains stop bullying the city and the skies regain their sky-blue aura, when the roses begin to change colour from white to red, that's when Bengalis exult. Take a large dose of what their favourite Karl Marx would call the opium of the people -- religion. Five days of festivity -- the Durga Puja. Durga Puja hinges around Mahalaya day, a week before the actual celebrations begin. It was on this day that Durga was assigned the task of eliminating evil. So the familiar pose of Durga unleashing her wrath on an outpowered assura (demon). Not many know that Durga was traditionally worshipped during the Basanti Puja in March, as initiated by Raja Surath. The present form of the puja is said to have been conceived by Lord Ram. Legend goes that Ram wanted to invoke the blessings of Durga before his great war with Ravan. He performed the Durga Puja despite the time of year not being right. That is why the puja is also known as Akal Bodhon, or untimely invocation. Shakti wields the power of ten hands in the sole form of Durga. Each hand carries a deadly weapon of destruction bestowed on her by the various gods of Hindu mythology, on the occasion of her battle with evil. The kamandal is said to be received from Brahma, the chakra from Vishnu, the trishul from Shiva, the Vajra (lightning) from Indra, the kuthar from Vishwakarma, the Kaladanda (mace) from Yamraj, the nag from Vasuki, the kharga and dhal (shield) from Surya and the Dhanuswar (bow and arrow) from Vayu. Durga accepts any flowers from her devotees. But the one she loves best is the rose which changes colour from white to pink to red during a single day. And the more common red-stalked, little white parijat. There has also been a tradition of offering 108 lotuses during the daily puja, which goes on for five days ending with the immersion of Dussehra. The joke runs that if a couple of Bengalis get together, they will be sure to set up three Durga Pujas!Well, Bombay goes way past that quorum. Little wonder that there are at least 22 Durga Pujas held in the city. And the Bengalis here celebrate their favourite puja with zeal equalling that of their counterparts in Calcutta. The accent is obviously on revelry. Professional artistes pitch in too. Singer Abhijeet who organises the puja at Lokhandwala Complex never lets his audience down. And the food! The bhog distributed at the mandals is a grand affair. But the earlier sit-down lunches served on freshly-washed leaf plates have given way to buffets, long queues and melmoware fares...

North India The Bania Agarwals worship Gauri. Rekha, wife of composer Vishal Bharadwaj, began observing Navratri after the birth of her son Aasman. "I find that the puja gives very positive vibes and I want my son to understand these traditions. So now I keep the photo of Gauri ma, light the diyas, and offer flowers. We do the aarti every day. My three-year-old knows it now. On the eighth day we feed seven young girls. We wash their feet, too. The prasad is puris, chana and one sweetmeat, maybe halwa." Mansi Chawla, a Punjabi, strictly observes Navratri. Some Punjabus have only milk for seven days before breaking the fast on ashtami or navami. "We worship Durga Ma, and do the aarti at home. Some of us have fruit or a complete meal once a day. No intoxicating drinks or meat, no entertainment. At the end of the fast we feed beggars or worship little girls who spell the Shakti of the Mother Goddess." Kaushalya Mulani tell us on the Sindhi tradition. she explains that if the family Guru is a devotee of the Devi then Navratri is observed. But people may observe 'Ekana' -- one meal a day. Men are not supposed to shave, and abstinence is a must. On ashtami a mela may be organised. "It is only now that one hears of different avatars of the Devi. Earlier it was just Devi Durga we worshipped. Our grandmothers claim that names like Santoshi Mata or Vaishnodevi were never mentioned. It is supposed to be a time to stop indulging the senses and only worship the Mother Goddess."

Kashmir Hindus are a minority in Jammu and Kashmir but they celebrate their festivals with pomp and show. These days, festivities are subdued, though. The favourite deities of Kashmir are Lord Shiva and Serawali Ma Durga, the one who rides the tiger. Pundits and Muslims alike vouch that Navratri is important. No big pandals here, each Hindi household does the pooja at home. All the adult members of the household fast on water. In the evenings, fruit may be taken. As elsewhere, Kashmiris grow barley in earthen pots. They believe that if the growth in this pot is good, there is prosperity all year. The most important ritual for Kashmiri Pandits is to visit the temple of guardian goddess Kheer Bhawani on all nine days. The temple is in the middle of a Sarovar. To warn her devotees of a catastrophe, the deity turns the water of this lake black. The water had turned black a day before Indira Gandhi's assassination, and before the previous war with Pakistan. On the last day of Navratri, an aarti is held at the temple after which people break their fast. On Dussehra day, Ravana's effigy is burnt. Devotees also visit the Hari Parbat temple. And no dance or music. It is time to pray to the goddess who has descended to earth for these nine days. And though terrorism has driven the Pundits out many go to Kashmir during Navratri to pray and seek Kheer Bhawani's blessings to be able to return home. But it appears that the water is still black.

Kerala In Kerala, Navratri signifies the beginning of formal education for every child aged 3-5 years. While puja goes on in the temple for all ten days, it is only the concluding three days which are really important. Shankare Menon from Bombay says, "Ashtami is the day of Ayudya Puja, when all the tools at home are worshipped. Custom dictates that no tools be used on this day. On navami, day, we honour Goddess Saraswati by worshipping the books and records at home. We also abstain from consuming non-vegetarian food." Thousands throng the Saraswati temple at Kottayam during this period to take a dip in the mysterious holy pond whose source is yet unknown. Large gatherings are also seen at the famous temples at Thekkegram (Palghat), in which there are no idols -- only huge mirrors. A devotee finds himself bowing before his own reflection which indicates that God is within us. In Bombay, parents accompany their kids to various temples, including the Ayyappa Temple at Goregaon where nearly 300 children commence their Vidya Aarambham each year. V A D Menon who is a life-trustee of the temple explains the procedure: "All the kids are made to stand in a queue. The head priest tells the children to stick out their tongues, on which he writes 'Shri', using a gold ring. Every child has to bring a thali of rice from home, on which the parents, holding the finger of the child, help him write 'Harishri Ganpati Namaye'. All of this signifies that the child, from then onwards, must devote himself to learning and education." Menon adds that nearly 7,000 children from all over Kerala will be given their first lesson at the famous hiruvullakavu Temple near Trichur this year.

The Nine Avatars Navratri celebrations may vary but the worship of Goddess Durga remains their sole reason. The deity took different avatars or incarnations, killing nine evil forces or asuras. Each day of Navratri is devoted to one avatar. Mahakali came into being to kill two rakshasas, Madhu and kaitabh. After the deluge (Pralay) a lotus grew out of Narayana's navel with Brahma seated on it. But along with him these two demons were also born -- and they wanted to kill Brahma. In answer to Brahma's frantic prayers, Mahakali, who stayed in Lord Vishnu's eyes, left him and he rose to fight these demons for 5,00 years. mahakali changed the demon's mindset and instead of fighting they sought Vishnu's blessings. Once, Mahishasura defeated the gods and began ruling in heaven. The gods prayed to Lord Vishnu and Shiva. These gods emanated very strong light from their bodies which turned into Mahalakshmi and killed Mahishasur. Mahasaraswati or Chamunda eliminated Shumbha and Nishumbha. She was conceived from the powers of God Vishnu. Chamunda also killed another demon, Raktabeej, who could reproduce as many more of himself from each drop of his blood that fell to the ground. But Raktabeej was vanquished with the help of Mahakali who collected his blood on her tongue to stop this senseless reproduction. The fourth avatar safeguarded Krishna from his cruel uncle, Kansa. Yogamaya was brought to Mathura from Gokul in place of Krishna. In future wars she helped Krishna with her yogic powers, and killed powerful rakshasas like Chadoor. The came the ferocious Rakta Dantika who killed Veprachiti Rakshasa. She drank the demon's blood, hence this name. For a change, the sixth avatar was not incarnated to save the usually clumsy demigods. For 100 years, there was a drought on earth. So the sages performed penance and pleased Devi Bhagwati who was born as Shakumbhari. She brought rain to the parched land. A demon named Durgam had created mayhem. So Lord Vishnu created a goddedd. Since she killed Durgam, she was called Durga, and is the most sought after deity. She rides a tiger. A demon named Arun had evil designs on the wives of the demigods so they changed into a wasp and prayed to Durga. Durga changed into a wasp herself and killed the demon. So she came to be known as Bhramari. The last incarnation is Chandika -- she came to kill two demons, Chanda and Munda. So if it was not for the different incarnations of Goddess Durga, the gods would have been a very sad lot, and like earth, our heaven too would have been ruled by evil forces.

Maharashtra Uma Joshi, a Maharashtrian, says, "For us, navratri is a fun occasion. We perform puja each day. One of the rituals we follow is that we don't remove the flower garland we put each day. After nine days all nine are removed together. "Young girls who have not attained maturity are invited to eat, play games, dance and sing. We draw an elephant with rangoli, and the girls play guessing games. Then they are fed a meal of their choice. We also make as many dishes as there are Navratri days. Like on the first day we prepare one dish, on the second two, on the third three.... and so on."