Family’s 16-day Puja by the book

A Calcutta family’s determination to hold its first Puja by the book triggered a yearlong quest for such rarities as soil dug out with an elephant’s tusk, the bark of a bokul tree and clay from a prostitute’s door.

So, if medical student Moumita Das risked being laughed at when she followed an elephant ambling by her Pune campus, her engineer brother Prosenjit put his career on hold for a year to pick up the ropes of priesthood in Varanasi, and someone else travelled to Allahabad to get water from the Saraswati.

A domestic help gathered dew from leaves during a visit to her village. That will be used to bathe the Devi.

The individual efforts will culminate in a 16-day Puja — the family has chosen the longest permitted duration, from Krishna Navami to Shukla Navami — at their Seal Lane residence in Entally starting from Tuesday.

“Ritualistic rigour instils discipline. We were planning to hold Durga puja for a while but wanted to be fully prepared for it,” said Moumita’s father Pradip, a businessman.

The bodhan of the goddess is supposed to take place when Ardra (the star Betelgeuse) enters Navami tithi (lunar day). “This year that will happen only on Krishna Navami. We wanted to go by the book, which is why we decided to start this early,” said Prosenjit, bringing out a tattered copy of Raghunandan’s out-of-print Sanskrit text Durgapujatatva.

“Hundreds of books are available on College Street. But after so many reprints, the mantras they contain cannot be trusted.” Nine priests have been invited from Varanasi to assist Prosenjit.

The ritual of decking up the Devi will start from pratipada (September 30), with an article each offered over five days. “Community pujas bypass these rituals,” said Moumita.

The Puja at the Das residence won’t be about rituals alone.

A stotra recitation contest, to be judged by the court priest of Sovabazar Rajbari, Jayanta Kushari, has been organised to promote correct Sanskrit pronunciation.

There will be prizes for those excelling in collecting ingredients for the bhog, flowers and items required for the rituals.

Moumita’s cousin Sonali Pal, who brought clay from the door of the Jagannath shrine in Puri for the rituals and has been given charge of prasad distribution, hopes to be in contention. Soma Ghosh, a friend of Moumita who gathered clay from cowsheds and paddy stalks for the Nabapatrika, is just as enthusiastic about the competition. “This is going to be a Puja like no other,” Sonali said.

If it’s a celebration of tradition you are looking for this Puja, you now know where to go.

source: telegraph india