Somebody please pinch me that Durga Puja is not even a week away! Yes the biggest festival for Bengalis, for which we wait the whole year round with great enthusiasm (ashche bochor abar hobe!) is now celebrated with great pomp and show all over India …
Yesterday was Mahalaya. Technically this means Pitripaksha has ended and Devipaksha has begun. I started my day with the Sanskrit recitation of Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s Mahishashura Mardini in the dawn. As I was pondering over the shlokas and their meaning, I was thinking of addressing …
After having covered most of the famous pandals of South Kolkata in Part One and Part Two of my Festive Series Blog Post, I am here with the Final Part covering North Kolkata. Call it luck by chance, or chance by luck, I am someone …
Documenting Part One was great fun, and now that we are left with just a day to go for Mahalaya, I must shrug my laziness and pen down Part Two. So Day Two, in the morning, we start with the pandal right across where we …
A dear friend of mine asked me day-before yesterday, “What is the significance of Mahalaya?” While explaining her the significance of Mahalaya and Devipaksha, I got choked. Mahalaya marks the auspicious beginning of the festivities of Durga Pujo. Tuning into the voice of Birendra Krishna …
A very warm welcome to my blog and wishing everybody “Shubho Mahalaya“! On Mahalaya, invitation is given to Goddess Durga to descend on to the earth along with her family. Mahalaya marks the arrival of Devipaksha (fortnight of the Goddess), the day when Goddess Durga …