Even as Durga puja is round the corner and hectic preparations are on to observe it in a grand way, it may be worth citing some places where communal harmony during the festival made them hog the headlines.
Durga Puja by the local people at Chandrasekharpur of Bhubaneswar has its unique spirit of communal brotherhood. The dazzling gate of the puja pandal bears the symbols of all religions which include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism etc. One will be surprised to see that the Pandit Brahmins who perform the rituals stay in the house of SK Sahajahan who is a Muslim. In fact the puja was started first by him and the holy pitchers also moved initially from his house.
This is known as ‘Kalas Jatra’. Anyway, these activities are not affecting the sanctity of the puja but glorifying it. The emersion ceremony is marked by traditional Ghanta, Jodi Sankha procession and no one can find any unpalatable vulgar dance or songs. Use of liquor or any other intoxicants are unthinkable as well.
The Durga Puja in Manikagoda village of Khordha district is unique as the Muslim village head sits as Karta in the puja. The priests perform the rituals like oblation and put ghee in the fire. The Brahmins also put the sacred straw ring in the finger of the Muslim Karta. At the end of the puja, the deity moves to every door in the village including the houses of Muslims and Dalits.
The Kandhamal district of Odisha became ill famous after the unprecedented communal riot that occurred after death of Swami laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008. But in contrast to other areas, village Simanbadi in Daringibadi block shows a rare picture of social harmony by keeping up its 20 years tradition of Durga Puja with participation of people of all faiths. The village is mostly inhabited by Hindus and Christians, apart from three Muslim families. The puja committee is headed by one Sadhu Nayak who is a Catholic Christian.
Nayak says that there is no communal tension in the village when festivals including Durga Puja, Christmas and Eid are performed. The riot of 2008 has not affected the tradition of the village.
The Durga Puja in Cuttack is celebrated by people of all faiths. Record shows in many puja committees, the Muslim members play a major role in successful celebration of the festival. Everyone participate in the celebration with amity. The Durga Puja was started some125 years back by the Odia Bazar Puja Committee. The committee had two main members from the Muslim community, Sardar Adu Khalifa and Saikh Jamu.
Bira Ramachandrapur is a highly Sanskritized Brahmin village in Puri district in Sakhigopal block. It is nearly 15 km from Puri headquarters town. The adjacent village of Ahamedpur is mostly inhabited by Muslims. During Durga Puja, the local chief puts a turban on the head of a Muslim Sardar who offers different types of services to the deity. The Muslims play a major role during movement of the chariot of Manag Durga during Vijay Dushami. Out of love and devotion, the local people call Ahamedpur as “Amrutpur” (land of nectar). This shows the degree of social harmony, fraternity and relationship that exist in the holy land of Sakshigopal.
Kuchipalli is a village in Bargarh district. Every year during Dipavali and Kalipuja, ‘Jugar festival’ is celebrated and Maa Kali is offered with an eatable prepared by frying paddy harvested by a farmer’s field and frying it with gur or molasses. This is called as Jugar. The puja is unique as one Rashid Khan sits as Karta or presiding person in the puja. People of all faiths from Odisha, Chhatishgarh and Andhra Pradesh offer Jugar to Maa Kali during the festival.
Bhuli Colony is a Muslim dominated area in the coal city of Dhanbad in Bihar where Hindus are a minority. Here a group of Muslim that organizes the Durga Puja with a sincere bid to promote religious harmony. Mohammed Naushad, one of the organizers, said, “Durga Puja is a festival of victory of honesty and good over evil. The festival cannot be restricted to one particular community.”
The ‘Nani Mandir’ is situated at Makrana, a place in lyari Tehsil which is about 120 km from Karachi city in Pakistan. Epic says half burnt head of Sati, daughter of Dakshya Prajapati, who sacrificed her life by jumping to sacred fire had fallen there and from that time she is worshipped there as ‘Hingraj Mata’. The deity is very sincerely worshipped by Muslims as ‘Nani’ and ‘Maa Hingula’ or Hingraj by Hindus. During Chaitra Nabaratra (ordinarily falls during April), a month long festival is celebrated by both Hindus and Muslims. The festival is known as ‘Nani ki Huz’.
These instances are not exceptions but are the ethos of Indian culture and tradition. It is now time to realize and honour the tradition in the greater interest of humanity.
(The writer lives at Dumduma, Bhubaneswar and can be mailed at barada.das@gmail.com Mob-09937092259)