Birendra Krishna Bhadra was a spiritual poet widely remembered for his super-natural and magically wonderful recital of Mahishashura Mardini, a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by All India Radio Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the dawn of Mahalaya. He was an alumnus of the well-known Scottish Church College in Kolkata.
An important festival in the calendar of a Bengali Hindu is Durga Puja. Durga Puja lies within Devi Paksha (fortnight of Goddess), a particular fortnight of Bengali calendar when the Durga Puja is scheduled. The first day of the Devi Paksha is Mahalaya.
In the 1930s All India Radio used to broadcast a program called Mahishashura Mardini which describes the epic battle of goddess Durga with the demon king Mahishashura.[1] The script of this program was written by Bani Kumar and music directed by Pankaj Kumar Mallik.[1] The enchanting rendition by Birendra Krishna Bhadra was the stand out aspect of the recital. In 1970s, the programme became a recorded one. It has been decades since then, but even today Durga Puja opens with the same enthralling recital by Birendra Krishna Bhadra.
Birendra Krishna Bhadra was a poet widely remembered for his recital of Mahishashura Mardini, a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by All India Radio Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the dawn of Mahalaya. He was an alumnus of the well-known Scottish Church College in Kolkata.
An important festival in the calendar of a Bengali Hindu is Durga Puja. Durga Puja lies within Devi Paksha (fortnight of Goddess), a particular fortnight of Bengali calendar when the Durga Puja is scheduled. The first day of the Devi Paksha is Mahalaya.
In the 1930s All India Radio used to broadcast a program called Mahishashura Mardini which describes the epic battle of goddess Durga with the demon king Mahishashura.[1] The script of this program was written by Bani Kumar and music directed by Pankaj Kumar Mallik.[1] The enchanting rendition by Birendra Krishna Bhadra was the stand out aspect of the recital. In 1970s, the programme became a recorded one. It has been decades since then, but even today Durga Puja opens with the same enthralling recital by Birendra Krishna Bhadra.
Brishti bheja shorot Akas
Siuli fuler Gondho,
Maa aeshe aabar ghore,
Dorja keno Bondho?
Pujo elo Taito abar
Bajna Bajay Dhaki,
Gune Dekho pujo
Aaste 14 din bhaki
Dulchay kaas,
Dulchay bel,
Khulchay Moner
Aaina,
Eshogo shobai legay pori
cherediye shob bayna.
by-satyaki bhattacharjee
What 'Pujo' means to a Bengali ?
If you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta.
When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee.
But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah 'Bridge'.
I think of people.
Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads.
A city is the sum of its people.
And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of Calcutta?
When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life.
It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty.
I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect.
I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion.
In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world. Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.
Ah religion!
Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival?
I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion does not consists of Jai Shri Ram . It has little to do with ritual or sinister political activity.
The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess.
It may be about religion. But is not about much more than just worship.
In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain!
Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashimi, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?
To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta, you must understand the Bengali.
It's not easy. Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul.
But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you.
I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.
- By Vir Sanghvi
The actual worship of the Goddess Durga as stipulated by the Hindu scriptures falls in the month of Chaitra, which roughly overlaps with March or April. This ceremony is however not observed by many and is restricted to a handful in the state of West Bengal.
The more popular form, which is also known as Sharadiya (Autumnal) Durga Puja, is celebrated later in the year with the dates falling either in September or October. Since the Goddess is invoked at the wrong time, it is called "Akaal Bodhon" in Bengali.
The first such Puja was organised by Raja Nabakrishna Deb of the Shobhabazar Rajbari of Calcutta in honour of Lord Clive in the year 1757. The puja was organised because Clive wished to pay thanks for his victory in the Battle of Plassey. He was unable to do so in a Church because the only church in Calcutta at that time was destroyed by Siraj-ud-Daulah. Indeed many wealthy mercantile and Zamindar families in Bengal made British Officers of the East India Company guests of honour in the Pujas. The hosts vied with one another in arranging the most sumptuous fares, decorations and entertainment for their guests. This was deemed necessary since the Company was in charge of a large part of India including Bengal after the Battles of Plassey and Buxar.
Durga Puja (Bengali: দুর্গা পূজা, ‘Worship of Durga’), also referred as Durgotsab (Bengali: দুর্গোৎসব, ‘Festival of Durga’) is an annual Bengali festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi , Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nabami and Bijoya Dashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to traditional Bengali Calendar and the fortnight corresponding the festival is called Debi Pokkho (Bengali: দেবী পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Goddess’). Debi Pokkho is preceded by Mahalaya (Bengali: মহালয়া), the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Pokkho (Bengali: পিতৃ পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Forefathers’), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja (Bengali: কোজাগরী লক্ষ্মী পূজা, ‘Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night’)
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