Kashmere Gate Durja Puja: Oldest and the
best
Apart from our freedom fighters and the elderly generation, guess who has seen the transition of power from the days of the British Raj to a free India in the National Capital? The Yamuna, the monolithic monuments lying for centuries and the over 100-year-old Durga Puja festivities at Kashmere Gate, the city’s oldest and the most popular.The Delhi Durga Puja Samiti (DDPS), also known as the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja – currently held in the lawns of Bengali Senior Secondary School, Alipur Road – started way back in the year 1910 at Roshanpura Kali Mandir near Nai Sarak as ‘Barowari Puja’ (public festival).The puja was an effort on the part of the probasi (expatriate) Bengalis living in the city, especially one railway doctor Hemchandra Sen (whose efforts saw it being started from a rented place at Roshanpura). Subsequently, Lala Lachminarayan and his son Lala Girdhari Lal helped the puja samiti grow by providing them space (from 1913 to 1946) in their Dharamshala located near Fathepuri Mosque. With Bengalis embracing English education, many had to leave home to serve in different parts of the country during British times. This brought a clutch of Bengalis to the city. In 1911, when Delhi was officially declared the Capital of British India, a good chunk of them came to work in various government offices. These educated Bengalis formed a close knit community, unhindered by petty professional jealousies. This gave a huge thrust to the annual Durga puja celebrations. At first (in 1910 and 1911), the puja in Delhi was performed by ritually consecrating the ‘mangal ghata’ – the earthenware pot, symbol of the ‘Devi’. Enthusiasm was unbounded when idol worship (pratima puja) started in 1912. With the help of late Parmananda Biswas, who happened to be a Christian gentleman, an idol was brought from Varanasi (Kashi) with help from railway employees. This arrangement continued till 1925. From 1926, the idol began to be made in the city itself. And since then, there was no looking back. Many eminent persons visited this puja venue, including stalwarts like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 1935 and Smt Indira Gandhi, the then PM, in 1969.“We make it a point to spend a day at the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja. We are following this tradition since the days of our grandfather. There is something about this puja which we don’t get anywhere else,” says Shayamal Banerjee, a regular who comes all the way from CR Park, the hub of puja festivities in Delhi. About the Durga Puja
In all these years, the DDPS has surprisingly been able to maintain the traditional aura and atmosphere of Durga Puja celebrations akin to 'Rajbaris' of Bengal. At the Kashmere Gate puja, Goddess Durga is always in the traditional 'Daaker Saaj' (with one frame idol), her garments are stylish, crimped decoration in silver and gold, with an intricate glittering crown and huge earrings. On Dashmi evening, when the idols are immersed in the Yamuna, DDPS arrives with their magnificent but tranquil goddess on a bullock cart chanting 'Durga Mai Ki Jai' and drum beats by at least 10-12 dhakis (Bengali drummers) accompanied by the men and women in dhoti-kurta and red-bordered saree, respectively. Besides being the oldest, what’s so special about this puja? Samarendra Bose, private secretary of Delhi Durga Puja Samiti says, “In our pandal, we allow only Bengali songs. Over 100 of our committee members are in dhoti kurta and saris. When people visit our puja they get a homely feeling and do not feel like leaving the place.”One more speciality of the puja is the food stall put by the Bengali Club every year (the club is declared as Heritage building by the MCD). “Biryani and korma are the favourite of our stall,” says Bose. Bose is associated with the puja since the ’70s. Ask him about the difference between then and now, and Bose says, “Earlier we used to stage three Bengali plays every year. Now people want to see good plays but it’s difficult to get good play groups. The real art is missing somewhere.”Eco-friendly pujaThe capital's oldest puja is also eco-friendly. The idol is made of biodegradable material so that the Yamuna does not get polluted after immersion. In addition to this, the colours used to paint the idol are vegetable dye-based shades. Non-biodegradable accessories are removed before the final send-off. While the clothes adorned by idols are given away to the poor, flowers collected during the puja period are preserved and handed over to an NGO for making eco-friendly colours.What’s special this year?Barun Mukherjee, president of Delhi Durga Puja Samiti, said, “This year is the 102nd year of our puja celebrations. On Saptami day, a special programme on Rabindranath Tagore is being organised as it is the 150th birth anniversary of Kabi Guru. Out station and local artistes will perform on the occasion. Dance and songs will be the highlight as it is difficult to get good drama group nowadays.”So, if you want a taste of original Bengali culture and experience Durga Puja in the way it is celebrated in West Bengal, don’t miss the opportunity this year and make it a point to take part in the Kashmere Gate puja festivities.
Kakoli Thakur
No comments:
Post a Comment