TURA: The onset of autumn has always been the prelude for ushering in the festive Durga Puja celebrations which are marked with religious festivities, fun and gaiety across the region.
This year, it will be a muted event, a first in the history of the celebrations which began a century ago in the Garo Hills. Durga Puja amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed put paid to the celebrations.
The call of the conch will be a distant memory of the yesteryear’s celebrations and the rhythmic sound of the drums will be reminiscent of the good ol’ days. The fun-loving tradition of pandal-hopping will be a thing of the past as celebrations would centre around one’s very own locality and respective puja mandaps.
The fear of mass gatherings, which could ultimately lead to a spike in COVID-19 infections, has bludgeoned authorities into issuing SOPs to minimise gatherings.
“The Durga puja won’t be grand this year. More than the celebrations, we will focus on the religious events of the Durga puja. This time, the celebrations will be confined to the rituals from Saptami to Navami. There will be no entertainment or programmes because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” says Central Puja Committee secretary, Arup Nag, while speaking to The Shillong Times in Tura on Tuesday.
He says for the CPC, safety and well-being of everyone comes first and it is more so in this current situation of the pandemic.
This year, two puja mandaps — Babupara puja mandap and Amrai Sobai — in Tura are completing their 100 and 25 years respectively.
“We want a minimal number of gathering, which is why we have asked devotees and the public to confine to their puja mandaps in their respective localities. This will immensely help to check against mass gatherings and avoid violation of the health protocols,” adds Nag.
The festivities that traditionally used to go on well into the night won’t be there this time with directions in place to wrap up all events by 9 pm each night.
Garo Hills is hosting 117 durga puja mandaps, where 78 mandaps will be set up across West Garo Hills, followed by South West Garo Hills (26), South Garo Hills (12) and East Garo Hills (1).
It is just not the musical nights and competitions that will be missing in this year’s celebrations. For many a gourmet lover, the stalls preparing colorful, nay mouth-watering food items will be dearly missed. The savoring of traditional Bengali delights, particularly the famous Rasogolla, will be immensely craved.
With the pujas scaled down in celebration, so too have the idols.
“This time the size of the idols is much smaller and this has been done so that only a handful of devotees can carry it during the immersion at the ghat. There will be no procession on the final day and no Dhak competition either,” announced the CPC.
The immersion procession and the subsequent dhak competition, or beating of the drums, are major attractions for spectators each year.
For many devotees, memories of Durga puja celebrations from the yesteryears will be immensely missed.