Durga Puja celebrations drawing nearer, the organisers of the puja in Dehradun are now busy, giving final shape to things. like the previous years, cultural prorammes would be staged to mark the four-day puja, starting on Friday.
Aside from dance, dramas and plays, programmes on geets and ghazals would be staged too to draw crowd, say the puja organisers. A number of cultural groups from Kolkata and some other places are now arriving to perform during the festivities in the city.
One of the organisers of the city’s oldest puja held at Bengali library said that like the previous years, dramas will be held during the four days of puja festivities. “Students from schools and colleges would stage the plays. We invited suggestions on the selection of dramas. Now preparations are reaching the final stage,” he said.
Dwelling on the history of Durga Puja being held in Dehradun, he said that while the first Durga Puja was held in Bengali library in 1924 the puja held at Hathibarhkala commenced in 1943 followed by that in Raipur in 1944. Presently, it is celebrated at around 11 places, spread all over the city, he said.
Raipur Puja Committee general secretary Tapas Chakraborty said that this year marks the 73rd year of the puja being held there. “It would be held at the junior club premises in the vicinity of the Ordnance Factory Estate, Raipur from Friday to October 11. The festivities will begin on October 7 the day marked as Maha Shashthi. The Goddess would be invoked in the evening through what is known as Bodhan. legend has it that the Goddess descended on Earth on the sixth day of the Navratras,” he said, adding that the notable feature of this puja would be the eco-friendly idols.
He further said that two months prior to the Durga Puja, a group of artisans led by Bankim Pal from the famous Kumartuli locality of Kolkata had reached here and engaged themselves in the making of the images. Pal has been visiting Dehradun for almost twenty three years now for the same purpose.
The puja has many things in store like the traditional Pushpanjali and Bhog. “As per our experiences, five to eight thousand people congregate to do anjali and collect bhog. In the evening, Aarti is held,” he said.
Dwelling on the importance of the Sandhi Puja, Chakraborty said that it signifies the moment when Mahishasur, the demon king, is believed to have been slain by the Goddess. “The time is fixed at around 5.10 pm on October 9. This also marks the time when Ashtami yields place to Navami,” he said.
Several cultural activities, including dance, dramas, geet and ghazals, have been planned too to enthrall the crowd. A number of cultural groups coming from outside would perform. Besides, several food stalls are also being set up to provide the crowd with mouth-watering dishes, especially traditional Bengali recipes.
Besides the big Pandal, plans are also afoot to fix a big screen to facilitate the crowd to see Aarti and the programmes to be held in a better way. The festivities will culminate with the Sindur Khela (play of vermilion) followed by the immersion ceremony of the Goddess on October 11.
