By Uma Purkayastha
Now a days, people opine that Durga Puja is nothing but mirth and merriments and wastefulness; and it is less religious but more luxurious and carousel. Apparently it may seem so, but actual significance of the Durga puja is far more to that. The Durga Puja aims at the triumph of truth over untruth, good over evil, light over darkness and triumph of knowledge over ignorance. As the Mythology goes, goddess Durga killed the demons like Mahisasura, Ghorasura etc. to make the heaven free from the oppression of the demons. She is the personification of strength; and She was worshipped by different devotees in different times, to acquire strength to kill the evils. In autumn, Ramachandra invoked goddess Durga and worshipped her for killing Ravana and to rescue Sita. It is believed that, on the second day of the Puja , at the moment of the transition of Ashtami, the ten heads of Ravana were detached from his body , i.e Ravana was killed. On the fourth day, after the immersion of the goddess, people celebrate ‘Vijaya’, the ceremony of victory, joy and union. In a mass prayer, hymns are uttered for universal peace, prosperity and unity. In a word, Durga Puja aims at universal welfare.
This Autumnal Durga Puja was first performed in Bengal in 1757, after the defeat of Nawab Siraj-ud-dullah, in the battle of Palassy, with the main purpose of driving out the British power who had captured the motherland and tortured the Indians like the demons.
Gradually the Puja became popular, but being a very costly festival, and beyond the reach of the common people, the Puja was celebrated by a very few rich families. The common people felt the urge of celebrating the puja and in course of time they started ‘Public Puja’ (Sarbojonin Puja) with subscription/donation from the public. Now days, it has been a popular practice in all parts of India.
In Bengal, the Puja first started with the worship of single idol of goddess Durga but afterwards the idol of Durga was accompanied by Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, Kartika, the god of valour and youth, and Ganesh, the god of success and democracy.
This Puja had been prevalent in India since prehistoric age. The image of the Divine Mother in different postures was found in the excavations of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, and it is deemed that the Indus Valley people worshipped the goddess for gathering strength to kill the evils.
In Shillong, the Public Durga Puja was first started in 1896, in the Harisabha Para of Laban. During that period of improper transport services due to lack of motorable road between Shillong–Gauhati, the worshippers brought the idols from West Bengal, half way by train, then by steamer, and then by motor car upto Gauhati. From Gauhati to Shillong the idols were brought by bullock cart which took three days to reach. The priest was sourced from Sylhet, crossing the hills on foot. That Puja is an historical event of Shillong. An interesting aspect of that puja was the total expenditure incurred was Rs.75 and 8 annas, and the highest rate of subscription was Rs. 2/ and lowest was 2 annas.
The next year 1897 was the most unfortunate year for the People of Shillong. The disastrous earthquake of 12th June 1897 swept away many lives and property of Shillong. The people were so panic stricken that they were praying to goddess Durga as saviour. That year Durga Puja was celebrated very gorgeously in Shillong, and people, irrespective of religion or caste or tribe participated in the puja.
Now, days and time has changed. It is the age of Television, Internet etc. People hanker after luxurious and costly things. There is competition in every affair right from pandal decoration to idol sculpturing. Old style of puja is almost invalid now. Each and every Public Puja is spending average 7 to 10 lakhs. Though apparently it is misuse of money for gorgeous illumination and pandal decoration or Orchestra amusements etc, but without enjoyment, the religious festivals become dull and colourless. Innocent joy or enjoyment is also a part of religion. In a public Puja, the organizers can afford lot of extraordinary illumination at the cost of the subscription of the people, which the middle or low income group people cannot afford individually for their children. The children enjoy fully the extra ordinary sculpturing, the electrical displays, the orchestra etc. but the rituals should not be disturbed for such enjoyments. It is also observed that, in the puja pandals, worship attracts a very poor attendance now and more in orchestras, where audience overflows the pandals! Moreover, the high decibel display of orchestra music is also troublesome for the ailing neighbors. We should not forget that discipline is a must part of our religion.
The Durga Puja, is not only a religious ritual but through this festival, our arts, crafts, culture, our traditional heritage, our social values and custom, our hospitality are expressed in different spheres of life and living. It is a symbolic expression of the socio religious life of ancient India, which aims at universal fraternity.
However, it is sad to see the degeneration of Shillong as a cosmopolitan city, in the sands of time. The reminiscence of the coexistence of temples, mosques and churches and the feeling of goodwill among all communities is still fresh in my mind but somehow it is no longer visible now although these structures are still standing in their places. May goddess Durga rekindle the old glory of this city.