In the UK we have quiet, modest Bank Holidays. In India they have what are known as Pujas, great festivals of colour, noise and theatre. Last weekend saw India celebrate one of its best-loved national festivals - the 10-armed Goddess.
Active You has visited India a number of times and we have friends and business partners across the country in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Calcutta (Kolkata). So we thought it was only fair and right to ask them what the festival of the 10-armed Goddess was all about.
Here’s the full lowdown, from those in the know:
Durga Puja or Durgotsab (Festival of Durga) is one of the largest celebrated festivals worldwide. This festival is more prevalent in the Eastern part of the Indian sub-continent, around the cultural capital of the nation, Kolkata. In these parts, this annual Hindu festival is the most significant socio-cultural event and is celebrated during a four-day annual holiday.
Durga Puja, the festival of autumn, is celebrated sometime in the months of September-October; the exact dates determined by the traditional Hindu calendar. This year, it happened on the long (very long) weekend of 24th/26th/27th/ 28th September.
In India, the Goddess Durga (The Invincible) or Maa Durga (Mother Durga) is the embodiment of the creative feminine force and compassion. She is a warrior, depicted as having 10 arms, riding a lion into battle with the demons with a meditative smile on her face, even in the midst of spiritual battles of epic proportions.
Best place to see Durga Puja? Kolkata.
Kolkata, including its suburbs, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, and is home to around 15 million people. During the festival, traffic in this huge city grinds to a halt, especially in the evenings, as thousands throng the roads to enjoy the celebrations. Once you see the merry masses, one understands why Kolkata is affectionately called “The City of Joy”.
The Goddess is worshiped in temporary structures known as pandals, which are set up in parks, fields, streets and roads across the metropolis. The most prominent ones are designed and created (sometimes over months) by highly skilled artisans. You’ll see both traditional and creative forms in the designs of pandals and the idols. The idols depict the Goddess and her family, along with their bahans (or creatures on which they ride).
During the pujas, people dress up in new clothes and offer their prayers. As evening descends, the city is awash with lights and the roads and streets are taken over by the thousands of pandal-hoppers, visiting one pandal after another and admiring the various creative efforts.
After four days of intense celebrations, it’s time to bid farewell to the Goddess. With tearful eyes, the idols are finally carried away and immersed in the River Ganges, amidst shouts of “Aschhe bochhor abar hobe…” (Once more… next year).
How does one get to see the Durga Puja next year? Firstly, the Durga Puja of 2010 is on the weekend of 17th October so that’s the time to visit. The best places to see it? Kolkata is probably the best as it has such a rich vein of Indian culture at its heart. Best airline? There are many that fly from the UK to Kolkata so to get the best prices visit Cheap Flights for a quote across a variety of airlines. Click here to sign up to Cheap Flights’ newsletter.
And safe Puja…..
