Durga Puja: Mahalaya

MAHALAYA: Homecoming of the Goddess

It is that time of the year again...blossom in the air, the fragrance of Sheuli Phool (Night Jasmine Flower) marking the start of Puja season and the sound of the Shankha(conch shell) signifying the arrival of Maa Durga. It is that time when every Bengali's heart gets filled with joy and happiness and they wait for the celebrations to begin.

What exactly is Mahalaya?

Mahalaya marks the start of the Festival. It marks the end of the Pitra Paksha and the start of the Devi Paksha. It is believed that on this day Maa Durga descended to the earth from heavens, to fight Mahishasura, the demon who terrorized all the gods.

Traditions of Mahalaya 

Mahalaya is celebrated all over India, in Eastern states of India such as West Bengal, Assam, and parts of Tripura, it has a major significance. It begins by waking up early in the morning, offering Sheuli Phool to the goddess, blowing the Shankha and turning on the radio to listen to the famous broadcast of 'Mahishasuramardini' ("Annihilation of the Demon") in the voice of the legendary Birendra Kishor Bhadra who had recited it to broadcast over All India Radio, in the early 1930s.

Some interesting facts about the tradition

It is said that after the first when the first version of Mahishasuramardini recited by Birendra Kishor Bhadra was broadcasted over All India Radio, it was a huge hit amongst people and widely accepted by every Bengali. So every year the same version was played on air. But once the organizers thought of introducing a new version, recited by some other artist, to bring some change; but what happened later wasn't expected by them. People didn't like it at all, and they revoked and asked the same old version of Mahalaya to be played again. Since then, no second try has been made in making any new version of it, and decades later too, till this day the same old first pre-recorded version of Mahishasuramardini is listened by every Bengali, as the live broadcast has been halted long since.

                             We have come a long way down the road, our culture has seen many influences from the Western culture, the way of work and modernization, still at this time too, the Bengali Community has preserved its culture. We can now see many recreations of Mahishasuramardini on the day of Mahalaya being telecasted on the television in the form of enchanting audio-visual treat, in form of dance and drama; bringing to life the epic tale of the fight between the goddess and the demon.