Durga Puja  in Kolkata.- Maha Navmi  on September 27, 2009
  Durga Puja the divine power
  Durga Puja, is celebrated to worship Shakti - the divine power. It is celebrated throughout India, but with great grandeur in Kolkata. It commemorates the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. The familiar sound of dhak, dhunuchi nachh, gives a familiar tug at every Bengali heart. According to the Hindu mythology,  Durga is  the all-powerful almighty goddess.  Once a year, in the month of Ashwin, she comes home with her four children Ganesha (श्री गणेश), Laxmi (लक्ष्मी), Karttik and Saraswati (सरस्वती) and enjoys all the love and attention. This year Durga Puja  being celebrated from September 25 to 28, 2009 
   In her iconographic representation she is flanked by Saraswati, the goddess who removes ignorance, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, Ganesha who fulfils all desires and Kartikeya, the god of war and purity. The four deities accompanying the Mother Goddess suggest a holistic approach to divinity and the need to see disparate things in a harmonious blend. The images of the lion, peacock, swan, lotus, veena and mouse all reflect the creative mystery of the divine design and their necessary coexistence. The vanquished buffalo- demon signifies that vile enemies lurking within and outside have to be recognised as a part of reality and subdued for survival and progress. 
  Durga Puja the supreme Mother
  According to the Atharva Veda, Durga is the supreme Mother. She is the primal cause of this universal flux. Durga is revered with bhakti, with puja and archana and through the specific anushtthanas. Markandeya Purana, Devi Bhagwatam and the Tantra Shastras also praise the Goddess Durga the Adi Sakti. Durga is the beauty of Vishnu, creativity of Brahma and the tandava of Lord Shiva (शिव) . Followers of Shakti believe that in her fierce form Durga is Kali.

   Goddess Durga is also called  Uma, “light”; Gauri, “yellow or brilliant”; Parvati, “the mountaineer” and Jagatmata, “the-mother-of-the-world” in her milder guise. The terrible emanations are Durga “the inaccessible”; Kali, “the black”; Chandi, “the fierce”; and Bhairavi, “the terrible.”  Durga, a beautiful warrior seated upon a tiger, was the first appearance of the goddess. The circumstance of her miraculous arrival was the tyranny of the monster-demon Mahishasur, who had acquired invincible strength. 
  The gods were afraid of this water-buffalo bull because neither Vishnu nor Shiva could prevail against him. It seemed that the joint energy of Shakti was only capable of vanquishing mahisha, and so it was the ten-armed Durga who went out to do battle. She went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other gods. Durga is one of the angry and aggressive aspects of the goddess Shakti, whose role in Hindu mythology was to fight and conquer demons and also personify the Shakti or female aspect of any male deity. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the gods.
  Since then the goddess is invoked for protection from the powers of evil. Her literary references are chiefly the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and Puranic texts, and she is mentioned by name in Vedic literature. In general, Durga is regarded in northern India as the gentle bride epitomizing family unity while in southern India she is revered more in her warrior aspect.    
  Durga Puja Celeberation  
  Durga comes to earth on the seventh day after the autumn new moon. Seven days before her arrival starts the Devipaksha. The day is being observed as Mahalaya, the day of invocation. In the dark night of amabasya (new moon), people pray to goddess Durga to arrive in the earth to ward off all evils. On the dawn of Mahalaya, homes in Bengal resonate with the immortal verses of the Chandipath. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi , Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nabami and Bijoya Dashami. On the Bijoya Dashami day she starts on her journey back to Kailash with her husband, Lord Shiva.  

 
 Durga, a beautiful warrior seated upon a tiger, was the first appearance of the goddess. 
 
Goddess Durga went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other gods. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the gods.

 Apart from West Bengal, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and in some parts of India including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh. Nowadays, many non-residential Bengali cultural organizations arrange Durga Puja in the countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Kuwait etc.
  In Kolkata alone more than two-thousand pandals are set up,  to celebrate Durga Puja. The city is adorned with lights. People from all over the country visit the city at this time, and every night is one mad carnival where thousands of people go 'pandal-hopping' with their friends and family. Traffic becomes a nightmare, and indeed, most people abandon their vehicles to travel by foot after a point. Many attractive colourful pandal, glorious "Protima", and colorful lighting create joy for visitors. During the puja period, visitors come here from all over the world.   

   
  Shah Rukh Khan celebrates Durga Puja in Kolkata in 2008 with  dhaak and dhunuchi. 

  Durga Puja on the Hoogly river :  As huge crowds thronged the numerous Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata, devotees got an opportunity to worship the goddess while cruising along the river Hoogly on a vessel the  year 2008. A city- based travel agency has joined two launches together with one decorated like a pandal with an idol of Durga and the other meant for devotees.
  Durga Puja eco-friendly environment : Several pujas in Kolkata  have gone by focusing on the simple dos and don’ts that go into creating a safe, eco-friendly environment for celebration. For example, Goliath Maniktala Chaltabagan Lohapatti Durgapuja in its pandals  have used two alternative sources of energy, wind and solar power. There is even a tiny “windmill” on top of the pandal. The Rs 9-lakh Lake Town Adhibasi Brinda puja showcases splendid artwork in jute.was built in yera 2008 
  Communal harmony in Durga Puja  
  Durga Puja  is as important for Hindus as it is for Muslims in Ranch. Members of both communities join hands to celebrate the homecoming of Durga at Karbala Chowk, an area having a population of about 15,000 Muslims. Even the blasts on the eve of Durga Puja has not changed the festivities in Tripura, which has a unique tradition of Hindus and Muslims celebrating puja together. 
  Kolkata's oldest Durga puja
 The oldest Durga pujo in Kolkata turned 400 on Saturday, the 26th September, 2009. It is older than Agra’s Taj Mahal by 43 years and is organised by one of the oldest families of the city who once ruled over most part of which is now called as Kolkata. However, the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury family maintains a low profile about the 
feat. The family’s Barisha Aatchala pujo was founded by Lakshmikanta Majumder in 1610 when Mughal emperor Jehangir was ruling Delhi. Mughal general Man Singh handed over parts of the city to Majumder as jaigir  (property) and the Roy Chowdhury title to the family during his raids of Bengal. 
  Since then there has been no break in tradition or rituals of this pujo. “Our family is the only family in Bengal to have Sakta, Shaiva and Vaishnav (the three rituals of the Hindu religion),” says president, Sabarna Roy Chowdhury Paribar Parishad, Devarshi Roy Chowdhury. Even the 37th generation of the family intends to carry the family’s legacy further.
  Durga Puja in Bangladesh 
  Thousands of Hindu devotees joined the festivities in pre-dominantly Muslim Bangladesh to mark the end of the five-day Durga Puja, which culminated with the immersion of the idol of goddess Durga. Tens of thousands of people participated in the 'Dashami Bihita Puja' or 'Bijoya Dashami Puja' marking the end of the five-day 
festival. Leaders of the community said 22,000 'puja mandaps' were erected the year 2008.  

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