Durgotsava: A Rendition of Togetherness
It was eight in the morning. I pulled out a dress from my closet and got ready quickly. I put on the mascara and applied moisturizer and cream blush. I tied up my hair in a messy bun. I rubbed the lip gloss hastily. I took out a black sling bag from my closet’s side hook.
“Let’s go...let’s go... It’ll be easier at this time.” I shouted.
I and our guests, around a group of eight, stepped down from the stairs with heavy jumping sounds. It must have looked like any military camp. We’re hurrying to visit Goddess Durga.
She is here in marta (earth), her parental home.
“Is this a sabeki pujo (Traditional Puja)?”, our youngest cousin asked us in each pandal. And each time we said, “No!”
She also asked every time, “Is this ekchala (under one roof)?”
We sometimes said no, and sometimes ‘confused us’ said, “Maybe!”
After some two hours of hopping around, when we were chewing chocolate cookies in a small restaurant, she asked our uncle, “Now tell me clearly, what’s the ekchala, theme, sabekiyana...please!”
Our uncle said, “Okay…Listen. If we start long back, in the 14th century, then Durga used to be worshiped as only Mahisasurmardini, as the destroyer of the devil Mahisasur. Like we all know, as the symbol of the good who wins over the evil…”
Then, after some centuries, most believe that in the time of Maharaja Krishnachandra Roy, this ekchala format became popular. There are so many different chalas as well. That’s only the difference in the paintings. Ekchala is the symbol of family. Durga still comes as Mahisasurmardini, but now she brings her family along with her. Also, they all have animal carriers, and Ganesha’s (Durga’s son) wife Kalabou (banana tree) is a plant. This is somewhat like keeping the earth under one roof. She holds arms and symbols in her ten hands. Look… Durga idol’s rup (face and attire) looks divine in every way, in theme pujos also. But she gets a very traditional look in sabeki pujos, and ekchala is very prominent in sabeki pujos. There, everything is very traditional.”
“Then, in the early 20th century, artists started breaking the format of this ekchala. They separated the idols into five different formats. People believe that an artist named...hmmm...”
He stammered, "Well, yes, Gopeshwar Pal did that for the first time. He was a renowned sculptor. Then some conservative pundits opposed that. But simultaneously, from late twentieth century, the panchchala (five different chalas instead of one) became famous, and now the theme. Artists generally create these themes on the basis of contemporary lifestyles. So if you want to see some ekchalas, let’s go to North Calcutta. Some famous families are still maintaining the traditional format.”
“What’s good, sabeki or theme?” she asked again.
Our uncle laughed and said, “Well, it’s quite a battle nowadays. If you ask me, I love the pandal decoration in the theme, but I am in support of the ekchala format. It represents the unity of a family. I know it’s debatable. But Durga always represents our social circumstances. Like in 2019, she came and went back both in horses. That is not considered auspicious. And we know how 2020 became misery. This year she is coming in an elephant, and that symbolizes prosperity. These things, you know what we believe.”
"And when you break ekchala, it’s like you are breaking that togetherness. But I also support the artists’ freedom. So that depends.”
“You know what Durga and the entire ekchala- this is a depiction of society. It’s beyond religious customs. See, there are people of different religions, castes, ages, and races. That feel of ekchala is still here. We are celebrating. We are celebrating the bond, the warmth. Right?”
We all nodded.
It’s true that Durgotsava is not just a religious festival. It’s the joy of togetherness. Devi Durga’s stories inspire us to look up to those values of togetherness. Indian mythology is still tying the knots from the past to the present. She represents the power of ethics and the serendipity of togetherness. It's true that we could never match Devi Durga’s divinity. But if we choose her courageous path, the path will not be closed by the lack of divinity. Rather, the tireless efforts will be counted. That only needs will and work to make our lives better each day. It’s the literal rendition that she reminds us each year. I feel that effort as Ina*.
Our individual choices make up the layers of society. Yes, it can be different from one person to another, but if it is wrapped in values, then the sense of ekchala will never wash away. If we individually take the steps ahead, we will be stitching something so valuable that we could have probably imagined only in our dreams.
(*In Sanskrit, Ina (इन).—a. means determined or anything that is powerful.)