#bengali pujos

[that-mad-indian-woman]

Same idiot here for information on what are like the culturally appropriate things to do for pujo in Bengal

(non Bengalis here's your guide to act native to pujo madness)

So, what IS pujo?

Following mahalaya, (if you don't know what that is, here's the infodump i did;)

Devispaksha begins. The goddess is returning home. There's a different side to this story however.

THE MYTHOLOGICAL SIDE AND WHAT THAT GREEN THING YOU SEE AT DURGA'S FEET IN EVERY PANDAL IS.

So, mahishasur was believed to be a monster. He one day decided to go into the depths of a jungle and sit for an intense tapasya. So he did. He prayed to lord brahma for months and months. He was covered in ivy and moss, Insects grew on him but he stayed firm. For months he prayed, without food or water. Brahma, impressed by his tenacity appeared before him. Mahishasur asked for the boon of immortality. Brahma granted him his wish. "You shall not be killed by any man in heaven, hell, or earth." Strengthened by his boon, Mahishasur attacked Indrapuri, The court of God Indra. He captured his throne. The gods turned to brahma for help. Brahma, on realising his mistake, went to consult with Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. the gods decided that as mahishasur couldn't be destroyed by any MAN, they needed to create a female source of power to end him. The gods gathered. They collected their powers and from the blinding lights, emerged the goddess of feminine power-Durga. She was bestowed with weapons; she was given strikingly beautiful features, And then, armed with a hundred hands and skilled in hundred different weapons, she went on the fight. Mahishasur, initially enthralled by her beauty, proposed to marry her; but she declared war. The battle went on for days. At the end, Durga's vahan, the lion pounced on the asur, Durga stepped on him and piercing her trishul through his heart, emerged victorious. The evil was dead. The power that laid within the flashing eyes of the goddess had won.

GOT IT. SO WHAT DO I DO DURING PUJAS?

Puja celebrations usually don't start in it's full-fledged glory till atleast the fifth day (panchami). it continues till the tenth day (Dashami).

If you live in kolkata during pujas, GO OUT. The whole city is bedazzled in lights, there are fairs through the city. Nobody sits at home; everybody is out on the roads sparkling and dressed to nines. Wear your best dresses and walk through the streets at night till the sun comes up. The most major part of pujas is pandal hopping. Thousands of pandals with budgets of crores are made at various spots in the city. These are pandals as huge as marketplaces; each with different themes. There are competitions every year between them, based on which pandal had the best durga idol, which had the best theme, which had the best structure, etc.

Pujas are the time when Kaash ful(the white flowers I clicked last year in the fourth picture) are in full bloom, there are lotuses in bloom in ponds; nature is bedecked in her best jewels.

Keeping in spirit with the goddess returning home, bengalis usually return home during pujas. it's a time to visit families, revsit old friends and have complete unabashed fun. It's time to gobble down on junk foods as much as you can. Oh and girls, on Ashtami(or the eighth day), make sure you put on your best sarees for arti and bedazzle the guys on the road;)

Despite the intense commercialization of the pujas that has happened in the last few years, it still remains an extremely core emotion for us bengalis. It's the time of homecoming, of taking a break and reconnecting to our roots every year. it's the time of visiting family, of recreating old memories, of re-living new and old romances. It's the whole world celebrating you coming home. It's the world celebrating the power that lays inside every woman- a mother, a sister, a wife.

@vellibandi @pinkpdf @dhuup

[kaalbela]

Gaganendranath Tagore. Pratima Visarjan, 1915.

[zeherili-ankhein]

ONLY 150 DAYS LEFT TILL PUJOOOO

Maaa ashchhheeeeee yaayyyy

[kaalboisakhi]

আলোয় আলোয় ঢাকা

[theamoristwriter]

চতুর্থী ✨

Durga Pujo, 2023 !

[randomlyblue]

বাঙালির দূর্গা পুজো

[jukti-torko-golpo]

মা আসছে...

When pujo vibes hit...it hits hard.

[zindagi-se-darte-ho]

you know that? i am so excited about october and pujo. i am excited to go pujo shopping, i can't wait to lie in bed at 5 in the morning listening to mahalaya, i am excited to watch my neighbourhood light up in strings of yellow lights, i am excited to go pandal hopping with friends and family, i am so eager to eat all the hearty bengali meals on all the five days, i am excited to wear sarees and jhumkas, i am excited for nabami night outs, i am excited for dhunuchi naach and even for bishorjon. though bishorjon will bring me all the melancholy, yet i am so excited. i can barely contain my excitement.

[mooncrvmbs]

dhaaker taaley is the bengali equivalent of all i want for christmas by mariah carey. you can't go a day during pujo without hearing this song

[premtattva]

শুভ মহালয়া

May the advent of DEVI MAA bring strength swirling in winds, grace following the pious feet of Maa, love in the gentle embrace of Her eyes, and happiness in the form of Dhunuchi filling the environment!

Tagging:

@bishh-kanya @azure-cherie @@misty-moonflower@janaknandini-singh999 @swayamev @ashru-premika

[thatchaoticdesigirl]

It's that time of the year again...

The city has been cleansed with the after showers of monsoon. Blue sky peeking through fluffy clouds resembling the cotton candy carried by the street vendors. The smell of durga puja coming in through the open windows. Standing outside Kumortuli is a small smiling face in shabby clothes and dirty hair. The departure of idols might be significant for the whole city, but not for the little boy whose father will be coming home after months of crafting the inanimate joy that would fill the city for the next 10 days.

The single mother spent her bonus on the little piece of jwellery she had seen her daughter longingly looking at in Gariahat. The transferred father took a few extra days off. A son remembered his father on the banks of the Ganges, while the recently widowed woman longingly glanced at the idol's red saree. They felt what the poets may describe as peace and happiness but for them it was just plain old durga puja.

She arrived with her children, shaking the whole city from its slumber, a ray of hope within the gloomy times. Every year she arrives with the same smiling face and listens to all our problems. To the lost boy trying to find his place in society, to the queer person trying to figure out why they were wrong, to the girl who never saw her father after that day in court, to the lady who never knew what happened to her daughter the night she went out with her friends. Lives filled with tragedy after tragedy lie at Maa's feet asking for a way ahead. Maa listens. She gives them hope and sometimes tragedies do go away. The boy lands a job while the queer person is invited back to their family. The girl recieves a gift from her father while the lady cries at the station,report in hand. Maybe not happy endings, but closure. That's what Maa gives. Hope is just the surface of the abyss of our mind which actually seeks closure.

The bright lights and bamboos wrapped in colourful clothes stand as a symbol of the hardwork of all those people who worked relentlessly to make this festival a pathway to overcome tragedy. The people live another day to fight, blessed by Maa.

At the break of dawn on Mahalaya, someone replaces the oxygen with adrenaline, and for 10 days, the city does not sleep.

[callonpeevesie]

Mahalaya is so wild because you'd think waking up at 4am is some religious ritual, but no, it's entirely social. Some ninety years ago everyone just collectively decided that it's Absolutely Necessary to wake up at the ungodly hour of 4am every Mahalaya to. listen to a radio program. We Have to listen to it every year otherwise the economy will be in shambles

[kaalbela]

Kolkata. Durga Pujo '23.

[zeherili-ankhein]

Dhurrrr aar bhalo lagchhe naa kobe ashbe pujoo 😔😔

[choppedphilosopherharmony]

ক্ষণেক দাঁড়াও স্থির,

পদতলে নমি শির,

তব যাত্রাপথে,

নিষ্কম্প প্রদীপ ধরি

নিঃশব্দে আরতি করি

নিস্তব্ধ জগতে।

- রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর

[watchingblsnowandforever]

আসছে বছর যে এলো চলে; কাশ বনেতে ফুল ফুটেছে; নীল আকাশে মেঘের তুলো। বাঁশের উপর রঙীন কাপড়: রাস্তার ওপর কত যে প্যান্ডেল; বাজারে আর যায় না ঢোকা। মায়ের মূর্তি এই এলো বলে, ষষ্ঠী আর তো দু দিন। সপ্তমী ও গড়িয়ে গেলো, অষ্টমীতে সাজের বহর, অঞ্জলী আর সন্ধি পুজো। নবমী তে প্রমাদ গুনি, মা যেতে আর কতক্ষন। দশমী যে চলেই এলো: লাল পাড় সাদা শাড়ি, বরণ করে, হাসি মুখে, ভাসান গেলো মা, আসছে বছর আবার হবে, মায়ের সঙ্গে দেখা।

I don't usually write in bengali but this popped into my head and refused to leave, so here you go.

Feel free to ask if you want a translation :D