Durga Puja celebrations in Ranchi

Where women take charge of Durga Puja celebrations
Tuesday, 07 October , 2008, 14:45


Ranchi: An all-women Durga Puja celebration has entered the 15th year in Jharkhand's Dhanbad city.

The Sarvajanik Durga Puja Committee, formed by 37 women in 1993, has been celebrating the festival without the support of men for the last 15 years. The women belong to Srinagar colony in Dhanbad, 240 km from Ranchi.

Images: The days of Durga

The women raise funds and also perform prayers and other rituals.

"We had decided that there will be no male member in the committee and each and everything will be organised by women," said Seema, President of the Committee.

"We feel proud that women are organising Durga Puja for so many years," said KB Mishra, a resident of Dhanbad. source: sify.com

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Navratri Durga Puja in Ranchi

Unity in diversity marks Navratri

- Communities add colour to celebrations

Ranchi, Oct. 1: The essence of Durga Puja might be similar for different communities in the state capital, but their rituals are unique.

Every community adds its own cultural values to Puja celebrations here.

With the beginning of Navratri festival on Tuesday, city-based communities — Maharashtrians, Gujaratis, Nepalis and Tamils offered prayer to goddess Durga in their own way.

The Maharastrians began their community meditation function Sahjoga which aims at evoking the souls of the individuals. Secretary of Maharashtrian Mandali, Alok Dhamurikan said there were 25 Maharstrian families who perform Pujas by reading stories related with different incarnations of their deity. They take only vegetarian food during the festival, Alok added.

On the tenth day, they make Puranpholi — a dish prepared with lentils and sugar and seek blessings of their elders, Alok added.

The Tamils offer prayers to their deities — Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati for nine days and decorate their homes with clay figurines of animals and birds. The tenth day is considered auspicious for a child to begin learning letters. The ritual is called — Upnayana, said N. Ramakrishna, a school teacher.

The Nepali community sacrifices 50-60 goats outside the temple premises of Jharkhand Armed Police I camp. The ritual begins on the eighth day of Pujas and continues till the ninth day.

“The community installs a clay pitcher full of water and treats it like a deity, instead of installing an idol,” Bahadur added.

On the seventh day, the devotees offer rituals to arms like pistols and canons. “Amid the gun salute, the married women place kalash to pray the goddess,” added Bhadur.

For the Gujaratis, Pujas bring a festival of dance. We offer our prayers through Dandiya dance,” said Tulsidas Patel, the secretary of Patel Samaj. Dandiya is basically a war dance performed to please goddess Durga, Patel added.

The members of about 200 Gujarati families attired in their traditional dresses danced to the beats of drums on Tuesday night at Patel Bhavan. source: telegraph india