The festival of Durga Puja starts with Mahalaya, the first phase of the waxing moon in Ashwin. Mahalaya marks the end of the Pitri-paksha and the start of the Devi-paksha. One of the most important rituals on Mahalaya is Chokkhu Daan - the ritual of painting the eyes of the Goddess.
During our childhood, Mahalaya has always been a pre-cursor to the puja mood.
Listening to the deep voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra on All India Radio in a half-awake state at 4 am in the morning, the slight nip in the air and the still dark outside, peering out from under the lep (comforter) and stretching our ears to listen to Mahishashur Mardini, the realization of puja vacations at schools and colleges just around the corner - all these snippets of imagery bring back a flood of nostalgic memories.
This year Mahalaya is on 30th September. Many of us will be listening and re-creating the Mahalaya effect on the 1st October weekend at our homes.
Here is the complete Mahishashur Mardini by Birendra Krishna Bhadra embedded from Youtube. This is for those kids growing up here and missing such simple pleasures of life. This is for those students who recently started their Fall semester and still coping with that knot in their throat for having to miss Durga Puja back at home. This is for those of us who would be re-creating the Mahalaya effect a week down the line. Enjoy!
2 more weeks to go ... 2 more weeks before the biggest event of the year unfolds ... 2 more weeks before the registration rates go up. Please register right away, if you have not done so yet @ www.cciorg.com
Listening to the deep voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra on All India Radio in a half-awake state at 4 am in the morning, the slight nip in the air and the still dark outside, peering out from under the lep (comforter) and stretching our ears to listen to Mahishashur Mardini, the realization of puja vacations at schools and colleges just around the corner - all these snippets of imagery bring back a flood of nostalgic memories.
This year Mahalaya is on 30th September. Many of us will be listening and re-creating the Mahalaya effect on the 1st October weekend at our homes.
Here is the complete Mahishashur Mardini by Birendra Krishna Bhadra embedded from Youtube. This is for those kids growing up here and missing such simple pleasures of life. This is for those students who recently started their Fall semester and still coping with that knot in their throat for having to miss Durga Puja back at home. This is for those of us who would be re-creating the Mahalaya effect a week down the line. Enjoy!
2 more weeks to go ... 2 more weeks before the biggest event of the year unfolds ... 2 more weeks before the registration rates go up. Please register right away, if you have not done so yet @ www.cciorg.com
RSS Feed
