PEOPLE THRONGED TEMPLES WITH THE OPENING OF EYES OF THE GODDESS

PEOPLE THRONGED TEMPLES WITH THE OPENING OF EYES OF THE GODDESS

21-OCT-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------Amidst blowing of conch and chanting of vedic mantras, the eyes of the Goddess Durga were opened or red curtain fell late in the early morning on ‘saptami tithi’ first at the Aranya Devi temple followed by others in different parts of Bhojpur district on Saturday. The pandals were decorated tastefully with series bulbs, festoons and coloured tubes. Massive pandals were also erected.

With opening of the ‘patt’ or the eyes, Durga Puja reached its crescendo and all roads lead to Puja pandals where men, women and children thronged with folded hands for a ‘darshan’ of Goddess Durga, the symbol of victory of truth over evil and offered prayers and obeisance on the seventh day of the festival in Ara. All roads have been tastefully decorated with lights. Even put up trees. The big size idols and eye catching puja mandaps reflected the varied conception of individual artisans about the Divine Mother. A visit to the various temples in the town suggested that people thronged the place since early morning and it continued the whole day. Women offered clothes to Goddess Durga. There has been no end to the stream of men, women and children flocking to various puja sites but it converged into a sea of human heads in the evening which continued till small hours of the morning.

In the meantime, heavy security arrangements have been made in the town and other parts of Bhojpur district keeping in view of Durga Puja.

Bhojpur SP, Pramod Kumar Yadav said that officials were directed to take contingency measures and keep extra vigil in the sensitive areas. He said all security and precautionary measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incident during the festival. He further said additional police pickets have been set up besides round the clock police patrolling in all the important and vulnerable areas have been undertaken. A large number of lady constables in addition to police force along with magistrates have been deputed for maintaining law and order during the festival.

Durga Puja festivity gets notch higher with the unique sound of dhaks renting the air during the ‘aarti’at puja at Druga Badi by the Bengali community here from Saturday. The beats of dhaks heightened the spirit from Mahaasaptami.

Though it is in the east where Puja is celebrated with maximum grandeur, especially in West Bengal where the frenzy is maddening, Ara too never misses the festivity and spirit of Bengal. “In fact, Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the dhak, the large drum that men hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners,” said Soma Chatterji, organizer of Puja Committee at Durga Badi.

No ‘aarti’ can commence at any Puja pandals organized by Bengalis unless a dhaki starts playing the dhak. Most of the dhakis come from the districts like Malda, Purulia, Murshidabad, Bankura and Asansol in West Bengal to earn a livelihood during the Puja. The art of playing ‘dhak’ is normally handed over from one generation to another.

“We wait for this festival for one whole year. As Puja approaches, we travel the country right from Delhi in the north to Tripura in the east, said a dhaki from Asansol who is here this Puja,  Ramgopal.

However, the old rhythms of these traditional drummers are undergoing changes. “The rhythm is no longer as slow as in earlier generations. Nowadays dhakis opt for faster tunes,” said he.

Earlier, different beats were used for specific aspects of Durga Puja, as for example ‘chokhhu daan (eye donation)’, ‘patha bali (goat sacrifice)’, ‘bisarjan’ (immersion ceremony)’, ‘sandhya aarti’ (evening offerings), ‘sandhipuja’ (worship of conjunction of two phases), and so on. Swaying dhanuchi dancers add to the festive mood with the beats of dhaks.

“The dhaki contest is about celebrating the true spirit of Puja and utilizing this as a platform to recognize and reward the efforts of the dhakis”, said Soma Chatterji.