Durga Puja also known as Durgotsab is an annual Hindu festival which celebrates
worship of the Hindu goddess of power, Durga or Shakti. It is a nine days affair
in which last six days are observed with complex rituals and intricate
ceremonies as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Nabami and
Bijoya Dashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are decided according to
traditional Hindu calendar and generally fall between the months of September to
November according to the Gregorian calendar. It is extensively celebrated in
the Northern and Eastern states of India- West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa
and Tripura. Apart from these places states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala also enthusiastically participate in the
festival.
Durga Pooja has always been an integral part of the Hindu culture. However, the
origin of public celebrations of grand Durga Puja can be traced back to the 16th
century. With the ascent of the Mughals, Durga Puja became more of a status
symbol in those days. Grand celebrations, gala feasts and huge fan fare was part
of the very first 'Sharadiya Durgotsab' festivals organized by Raja
Kangshanarayan of Taherpur and Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya in 1606. Annual
festival of Durga Puja soon became the most celebrated festival and as a day for
merriment with friends, relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. Opulence and
extravagance became an inseparable part among the powerful and rich Bengalis.
However, there were people who celebrated Durga Puja on their household level in
a traditional manner, which were characterized by much more devotion and
sentiments attached to the festival than the mere show off of the richer and
more prosperous people.
Some of the households have been holding these celebrations for more than 250
years now and take pride in the fact of how old is their traditional worshipping
set up. With time many cultural performances and shows became attached to Durga
Puja for entertainment and religious purposes such as colorful procession known
as 'Jatra', puppet dance, Kobi gaan (a type of songs), Kirtan or devotional
songs and magic shows that are the favorites of the children and adults alike.
Earlier, animal and even human sacrifices were very common on the eighth day of
the festival but eventually; this tradition has now become obsolete. There was
an additional custom of 'Baroyari' meaning a group of twelve friends that
originated in 1790 in Guptipara in Hoogly in Bengal. It is also known as 'Sarbojanin
puja'. Today, it has reached the masses of West Bengal and we can witness
innumerable small-scale and grand-scale community pujas, flooded with funds with
huge pandals and affluent décor. However, some people also believe that this
lavishness mars the sanctity of the festival.
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