Durga Puja

Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga. It is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha.

Significance

The festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the shape-shifting buffalo demon Mahishasura. It represents the triumph of good over evil and the power of the divine feminine (Shakti). It coincides with the festival of Navaratri and Dussehra.

Key Traditions

• Pandals: Temporary structures built with bamboo and cloth, housing beautifully crafted clay idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya.
• Bodhon: The ritual of 'awakening' the goddess on the sixth day (Mahasashthi).
• Pushpanjali: Offering of flowers to the goddess on the mornings of Saptami, Ashtami, and Navami.
• Dhunuchi Naach: A traditional dance performed with a clay censer (Dhunuchi) during the evening Aarti.
• Sindoor Khela: On the final day (Bijoya Dashami), married women smear each other with red vermilion before the idol is taken for immersion.

Artistic Celebration

Durga Puja is more than a religious ritual; it is a grand social and artistic event. In 2021, 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Immersion (Visarjan)

The festival ends with the immersion of the idols in sacred rivers or water bodies, symbolizing the goddess's return to her celestial abode in Mount Kailash with her husband Lord Shiva.