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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Durga Puja in Mangalore, Bangalore, Mysore, Karnataka


Mangalore/Bangalore, Oct 6, 2008: The Navarathri, Dasara and Durga Pooja whatever name you call it is a harbinger of happiness, the intense fervour it spread among the society is something that words can never express adequately.

During the nine days of Navarathri Hindus pray to the deities that includes Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Sharada, Durga, and all other forms of Shakti. During the Navarathri all traditional Hindu families offer poojas every day. In Mysore and Bangalore and old Mysore area every street will have a Sarvajanika Sharada Mahotsava. A larger than life size idol of the Devi is consecrated at the central place in a large pendal where devotees throng every morning and evening and offer poojas. In the evenings there will also be entertainment programmes.

On this occasion the students pray for their academic accomplishments while ladies for the well being of their families. The larger aspect is always Loka Kalyana - welfare of entire humanity irrespective of caste creed and religion. That is why the Hindus invite people from all religions to their houses and to the Sarvajanika Mantaps and offer them prasadam. People from other communities do oblige them.
In Mangalore there are at least 21 Sarvajanika Sharada Mahotsavas including the one at the Kudroli temple. The Mangalore Bengalee Association which celebrates the silver jubilee this year, has put up the Durga Pooja at the Scouts hall that provides the Mangaloreans an opportunity to see Durga Matha. The Bengalis are known for their Durga Pooja on the same lines as Marathis are known for their Vinayaka Chaturthi. At Kudroli Nava Durgas are consecrated in a fabulous Mantapam that brings down the pictures of heavens on earth. Sharda pooja is also held in Venkatarama temple at Car street in the form of Veena Paani, while in Chilimbi the Balakara Sharada Mahotsava Committee has consecrated Sharada for the 40th time. At Sanghaniketana in Pratap Nagar Mannagudda the grand Sharada Mahotsava has begun and 10 foot high Sharada has been consecrated.

In Bangalore also several places Sharada Mahotsava is being organized. The Bengali Association puja was inaugurated by IT-BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu. 'Bodhon', a ritual performed to welcome the goddess, was performed followed by a cultural programme. Women from the association performed a ballet on environment issues, along with children from an NGO that works for the hearing and speech impaired.

Sarathi Socio Cultural Trust in Koramangala too had an unexpected crowd of almost 10,000 persons at Mangal Kalyan Mantapa. The programme started with 'Rupasi Bangla', a performance by children. That was followed by Bengali folk songs and a Rabindra Sangeet performance by several association members. Krosswindz, one of the oldest Bangla rock bands, known for contemporary folk music, performed at the end. A huge number of college students attended. Police commissioner Shankar Bidari inaugurated the programme.

At J.C.Nagar the Sharada pooja was a grand affair. The local youth group which has members from all communities have put the largest Pooja pendal at Gangenahalli. source: http://mangalorean.com

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