The Durga Puja happiness – Now and then

The aerial distance between my school and the Durga Puja Pandal was 30 meters, and the aerial distance between my school and home was around 500 meters. So, every day I used to walk to-and-fro from school along with my friends. We looked like a flock of sheep on the ground with white shirt and navy-blue pant, which happened to be out school uniform. Usually, it took us around fifteen minutes to reach home after the school was over. But this duration had some variations during the festival seasons, especially during Durga Puja. The pandal, where the deity of Maa Durga was built every year in mud, was a major attraction for us. It was almost a month-long process to build the deity and the other idols from scratch. It all starts with the paddy straw, folded together to give shapes to the idols and takes different stages before the final one is beautifully built.

Every day, we used to peep through the narrow opening of the pandal gate, which remain closed during the complete process of idol making. Unlike modern day 3D printing technology, the idols are being built in steps spanning over days. We used to peep through the narrow openings as days pass by and observe every day what has changed since yesterday. We enjoyed watch things build and getting shape day by day. As the idol makers start colouring them, we start a guessing game among our friends, the challenge would be to guess the colour of the dresses of the idols and the monster (Mahishasura). Few win, few loose in this guessing game; but all these increase the belongingness towards the deity and the celebrations related to this famous festival.

Our school often closes for the puja vacation when Durga Puja gets nearer. However, our zeal to see the completed idols with dazzling colours never subside. During the vacations as well, we make sure to visit the Puja Pandal each evening and experience things finally getting in shape. We get attracted towards the coloured dresses of the deity and idols around her, we become more fascinated by the arrangements done around the Puja Pandals, we enjoy the cultural programs arranged during the festival; in a nutshell we enjoy the complete ecosystem of celebrations. We just move around the Puja Pandal in random and enjoy the celebrations and the real celebrity was on the Pandal, Maa Durga.

In all these hurley burley; we often forget that we also wear new dresses during this festival, as it’s a ritual in this part of India to put on “new dresses”. But to be true we never put our dressings, our preparations, our choices of colours to be more than the happiness of Durga puja celebrations. To be more candid, I remember sometimes we also had to manage with new school dresses, during the Durga Puja, yes that white shirt and navy-blue pant. But of course, new.
Can you imagine in recent days if any of our kids or grown-ups would settle for a new school dress during a festival? Although the ritual says to put on “new dresses” and a new pair of school dress are also considered new.

Yes, you don’t have to respond, as we all know the answer. It will be a World War 3 like situation in the family, even if someone proposes this by mistake. One-to-one verbal communication could be completely banned; heavy financial tariff can be applied as a penalty for the same. Possibilities can be endless .

Now a days, our Durga Puja preparations do not start with the paddy straw; rather, it starts with few pop-ups on our smartphones for upcoming deals. Now, we are less bothered to see how the deities are built step by step, but we are more bothered that how we are getting prepared for being dressed perfectly. We hop; shop by shop or site by site or app by app. We seldom track how Maa Durga is given Jiban – Daan, instead we prepare for our new possessions. During the festival we tend to sparkle more than the deities on the pandal. In a nutshell we tend to be the centre of attraction in the complete ecosystem with our get-up and possessions.

Yes, we are more colourful, more celebratory, festive, lively, joyous, and grand during the Durga Puja, but are we getting the real essence of this age-old tradition and rituals? Are we not being more cosmetic in our approach for the celebrations? Are we not buying new stuffs, just for the shake of buying? Do we tend to understand the process of incarnating Maa Durga each year and immersing her after the celebrations? If at all we immerse her, why do we build her again? Does she come every year just to make us happy with new goods in our possession?

You may say a “yes” or a “no”.

If we are cosmetic in our approach, it’s a “yes”.

Then it’s just an occasion for us to get new things in our possession and the business houses around us to make some business.
If “no”, then it’s an opportunity for us to understand what comes in has to go one day. But we have to enjoy each day, being part of something that is happening around us, and savour it until it is with us. Being self-centric in such celebrations make us materialistic. We often see devotees dancing in joy, devotion, dedication with no attention toward self; this is the real celebration of an occasion and real celebration of life!

Let’s celebrate this, Durga Puja; immersing ourselves in true devotion, and only being a part of the celebration; without being a celebrity in the celebration.

The real celebrity of this occasion is; Maa Durga, and we are just parts and parcels of the celebration.

Wish you a Happy Durga Puja 2025 and Great celebrations ahead.

On your Marks, Get Set Go Happy!

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