DURGA PUJA ORGANIZES IN BENGALI CULTURE

Ara (RNI) 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 Friday. The beats of dhaks heightened the spirit from Mahaashtami.  

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 rythm 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.