| Durga Puja, major festival of Hinduism, traditionally held for 10 days in the month of Ashvina (September–October), the seventh month of the Hindu calendar, and particularly celebrated in Bengal, Assam, and other eastern Indian states. Durga Puja celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon king Mahishasura. It begins on the same day as Navratri, a nine-night festival in many northern and western states that more broadly celebrates the divine feminine (shakti).Durga Puja’s first day is Mahalaya, which heralds the advent of the goddess. Celebrations and worship begin on Sasthi, the sixth day. During the following three days, the goddess is worshipped in her various forms as Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. The celebrations end with Vijayadashami (“Tenth Day of Victory” ), when, amid loud chants and drumbeats, sacred images are carried in huge processions to local rivers, where they are immersed. That custom is symbolic of the departure of the deity to her home and to her husband, Shiva, in the Himalayas. Images of the goddess—astride a lion, attacking the demon king Mahishasura—are placed at various pandals (elaborately decorated bamboo structures and galleries) and temples.Durga Puja 2023 will be celebrated in the month of October with Mahalaya on 14 October and Maha Panchami on 19 October. Just like every year, with the resounding echoes of the melodious 'Bajlo Tomar Alor Benu', Bengalis around the world will welcome the Goddess with the biggest smiles. Being the most awaited festival of the year for Bengalis, Durga Puja is nothing short of a carnival, with breathtakingly beautiful pandals peppered across cities, the reverberating sound of the dhaak, clusters of brilliant white kaash phool, people adorned in vibrant attire, and a whole gastronomic celebration! |
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| Durga Puja or Durga Pujo is celebrated with unmatched enthusiasm in West Bengal. Other states of the Indian subcontinent which welcome Durga Puja with pomp and pomposity are Assam, Odisha, Bihar, and Tripura. The Indian diaspora of other countries, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Germany, Hong Kong, the United States of America, Switzerland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, also come together to unite in their respective foreign lands and celebrate Durga Puja. s the legend of Hindu Mythology goes, the warrior goddess Durga was brought into existence by the collective effort of all the gods in heaven. When one of the asuras - the evil beings who reside in 'pataal', or below the earth - was granted a boon that stated that any man could not kill him, he began to try and take over the abode of the Gods. This made the divine beings anxious, who inevitably failed to defeat the cunning asura. To solve this worrisome issue, all the gods came together and projected their energies and powers to create an invincible woman named Durga, or the impenetrable. |
