The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Bengalis prepare for Durga Puja

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Bengalis prepare for Durga Puja

Staff Reporter

— Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

CULTURAL ICON: Guru Sarkar from West Bengal giving final touches to the idols meant for Durga Puja in Kochi on Friday. The local Bengali association has commissioned expert artisans from their native place to make the idols for the Puja.

KOCHI: With Navarathri fast approaching, the close-knit Bengali community in the city is already in celebratory mood. For a week starting October 4, the Rabindra Bhavan at Kadavanthra near here will reverberate with festivities.

Community members under the aegis of the Keral Banga Samskriti Sangh (KBSS) are geared up to welcome one of the most prominent events of their festival calendar.

Expert idol makers brought all the way from Kolkata are well on the way of completing the idol of goddess Durga, which will enjoy the pride of place all through the celebrations.

“The idol will be ready within a week,” said Nibit Purkayastha, president of KBSS. Apart from the expert workers, the association also imported the particular variety of soil needed for creating the idol, the clothing and weapons that the idol will be adorned with from the Kolkata, he said.

KBSS has also brought three artists from Kolkata who would play dhak and kasarghanta, two musical instruments, through out the week.

K. Narayana Kurup, former Madras High Court acting Chief Justice, will inaugurate the week-long celebrations at Rabindra Bhavan on October 4.

A fusion drama combining Malayalam and Bengali songs giving an insight of the lifestyles and social ethos of both the communities would be staged the very same day.

Next day would witness a puja marking the symbolic injection of life into the Durga idol. Agamani songs welcoming the goddess into the household would be rendered. Chanting of Durga slokas will follow.

Women members of the KBSS will stage a Bengali dance drama based on Rabindranath Tagore’s famous work Chandalika on October 6. Another dance drama by children based on the work of a famous Bengali litterateur will also be staged on the same day.

Music night

A music night featuring Hindi and Malayalam songs by a professional orchestra group will be held on October 7. Next day would be devoted to children and youngsters from among the 50-odd families of KBSS.

Cultural programmes by the association members to be staged in open air would be the highlight on October 9.

On October 10, the Durga idol would be taken in a procession to the Naval base for immersion, Mr. Purkayastha said.

The sacred water in which the idol is immersed would then be taken back to the Rabindra Bhavan and sprinkled over the devotees.

The belief is that it would bring peace, harmony and tranquillity for the rest of the year.

Then the community members would come together for “Vijayasammelani,” to celebrate the victory of good over evil, Mr. Purkayastha said. Prizes to the winners of the cultural programmes would also be distributed.

A sumptuous feast will follow in which non-vegetarian dishes would be served for the first time in the whole week.

All through the week, pujas will be performed in the mornings.

In the afternoons annadanam (free distribution of food) would be held. Throughout the week the community members would dine together with a variety of vegetable dishes in offer.

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