Today was Mahalaya, the day which marks the start of “Debi Paksha”, a 15 day lunar period culminating on a full-moon day on Kojagori Lakshmi Puja, according to the Hindu calendar. Within these two weeks, Bengalis celebrate their most coveted festival of Durga Puja. In effect, Mahalaya marks the advent of the mood of Durga Puja. Hence this day has always aroused special feelings in me.
When I used to stay in Kolkata, I always started the day of Mahalaya by listening to the immortal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra. His soaring recitation of Mahishasura Mardini (Annihilation of Mahishasura, the Buffalo Demon), which is a collection of shlokas and songs broadcast by the All India Radio (AIR, Kolkata) from 4 am in the dawn of Mahalaya for two hours, has always been and would always be one of the best pieces of rendition that any Bengali would ever listen to.
Unfortunately, since 2005, I have never had the good fortune of listening to this grand piece of music because I have moved out of Kolkata. However, today was different simply because Maa was present here in Bangalore and she never wants to miss Mahalaya on AIR. Hence I decided to exercise my volition and download the piece from the net well in advance and play it on this auspicious day. When I started played it exactly at 5 am, it felt as if I have gone back to Kolkata; the feeling was extraordinary. One golden voice of Bhadra totally negated the aspect of geography and location in my life.
Suddenly I started feeling that Durga Puja is round the corner, a feeling which in normal circumstances would have hardly crossed my mind, if I had not listened to the recitation. The propinquity that I have towards my roots, in spite of a physical distance from my birthplace, became prominent today.
The one thing that I have missed today though is gazing at Mother Ganges on this day, where people perform Tarpan Rituals for their deceased ancestors. It is truly an endearing site. On top of that, the sheer view of the serene and pristine Ganges with sunlight glittering on the waters is a pleasure to behold anytime. Even then, after a long long time I can say that, although I have had to attend office here today, Mahalaya has struck all the right chords in my life.It was special indeed.
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