Durga Puja, Durga Puja kolkata, Mahalaya, Puspanjali, Dipawali, Kalipuja, Festival,Durga Puja Festival : Durgapuja : Durga Puja

In Sanskrit the word Durga means "She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach." She is the mother of the Universe and worshipped for her terrifying aspect. She is also known for her many other names like Parvati, Ambika, and Kali. Different aspects of Durga described in the Puranas and Agamas. Usually pictured as having ten arms holding Sword, Conch, Discus, Rosary, Bell, Winecup, Shielf, Bow, Arrow, and Spear. Shown shown riding a lion, dressed in royal red cloth. Durga killed Mahish and his great generals. Then all gods united and became one devine force called Shakti or Durga.

Durga Puja in Bengal

The worship of Durga (Bengali: দুর্গাপুজা, Durgapuja) in the autumn (Shôrot) is the year's largest Hindu festival in West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, Assam, Jharkhand and other parts of East India as well as in Bangladesh. Durga Puja is also celebrated in Nepal and Bhutan according to local traditions and variations. Puja means "worship," and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashshin, which is the sixth month in the Bengali calendar. Occasionally however, due to shifts in the lunar cycle relative to the solar months, it may also be held in the following month, Kartik. In the Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September/October.

In the Krittibas Ramayana, Rama invokes the goddess Durga in his battle against Ravana. Although she was traditionally worshipped in the spring, due to contingencies of battle, Rama had to invoke her in the autumn (akaal bodhan). Today it is this Rama's date for the puja that has gained ascendancy, although the spring puja, known as Basanti Puja, is also present in the Hindu almanac. Since the season of the puja is Shôrot (autumn), it is also known as Sharodia.

The pujas are held over a ten-day period, which is traditionally viewed as the coming of the married daughter, Durga, to her father, Himalaya's home. It is the most important festival in Bengal, and Bengalis celebrate with new clothes and other gifts, which are worn on the evenings when the family goes out to see the pandals (temporary structures set up to venerate the goddess). Although it is a Hindu festival, religion takes a backseat on these five days: Durga Puja in Bengal is a carnival, where people from all backgrounds, regardless of their religious beliefs, participate and enjoy themselves to the hilt.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja

Durga Puja in Kolkata

In Kolkata alone more than ten thousand pandals are set up, all clamouring for the admiration and praise of the populace. The city is adorned with lights. People from all over the country visit the city at this time, and every night is one mad carnival where thousands of people go 'pandal-hopping' with their friends and family. Traffic becomes a nightmare, and indeed, most people abandon their vehicles to travel by foot after a point.

Durga Puja in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, with its 13% Hindu population celebrates the puja in many temples, an estimated 18,000 puja mandaps set up across the country, including more than 140 pujas taking place in the capital Dhaka alone. The Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad is one of the largest bodies overseeing the annual celebrations across the country. Unlike in India where politicians usually keep a low profile at the pujas, in Bangladesh Durga Puja is a major occasion for leading politicians of the major political parties to to reach out to their Hindu constituents. Official statements are made by the President, Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, and leaders of the political parties are seen at the largest Durga Puja mandaps such as those at Dhakeshwari Mandir and Rama Krishna Mission.Protima Bisarjan at the river Buriganga in Dhaka is attended and watched usually by millions.

The last day of Durga Puja, Bijaya Dasami is a national holiday in Bangladesh, and all government offices and most private companies remain closed.

Among the diaspora

Across the world, Durga Puja serves as a community gathering and a connection to roots for the widespread Bengali diaspora. Tokyo has nearly ten Pujas, and North America has several hundred. Some of the oldest Durga Puja celebrations outside Bengal have been taking place in the United Kingdom for over seventy years. In recent years, Bengali communities in Australia, France and Germany have also started annual Durga Puja celebrations.

In the Middle East, restrictions by local governments on minority religious practices have prevented many Bengali communities from celebrating. The most consistent Durga Puja in the Gulf region has been celebrated in Muscat, Oman, since 1982. The permanent venue for the annual celebration since 1994 has been the Hindu temple in Sohar, in old Muscat. Bengali Cultural Society Kuwait started Durga Puja as Sharadotsav in 1996 and continued till 2000. After 9/11, this has become a five-day get together and cultural programmes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga_Puja

Download Bengali Songs

Durga Puja is one of the most important festivel of Bengalies. The festivel goes on for five days. People play dhak, dhunuchi and shiuli on that occasion. The occasion starts from Mahalaya day, the day durga was assigned the task of eliminating evil