Thakur Moshai conducting Saptami Puja
At this time of year, three forms of the Goddess are worshipped in Bengal, and at three different phases of the moon. Durga Puja is at the time of the growing moon. Ma Durga is both mother and daughter. On the day of the new moon, Mahalaya, she leaves her husband's home for a visit to her parents, with her four children, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Lakshmi and Saraswati. She arrives on Shashti, the sixth day of the moon, and that is the day when her image is installed. Puja is conducted between the sixth and the tenth day of the growing moon.
This month's full moon is called Sharad Purnima. It is the brightest full moon of the year, and the Goddess is worshipped as Lakshmi, the embodiment of fulfilment and prosperity in every sense.
The dark night of the new moon that follows is the night of Kali Puja. The Goddess takes on her most fearful and powerful form as the destroyer.
The Colourful Puja Pandal - with the inevitable tea garden water tanker parked nearby!
Wishing everyone a very Happy Puja!
Get the Puja atmosphere - watch this video, hear the drum beats!
8 comments:
Thank you for your visit to Seguin last week. I love meeting new bloggers and visiting their blogs. You have lovely pictures and wonderful stories to go along with them.
I love this Puja series of yours. Am learning so much , and the pictures are lovely.
Enjoyed the video! Was it taken in the puja pandal in the preceding picture?
Aaaaaaahhh!! One more " I must do" on my list Gowri - be there at the Garden for Puja ! Thanks for these lovely posts, pictures and padam !!
What's on the menu at at a typical puja feast?
Gowri, an idea of the size of the figures could be sensed only when the priest was seen with them!
Really fantastic. Why do you need a separate kolu at all? This is just wonderful.
And the intoxicating beat - thanks for the video
Nice, Gowri.Everything is so colourful and festive and so different! right from the story behind.
The kids are the same though:-))
I'm glad I could share this with you all. Thanks all. The Puja menu - I had to reply to this. We ate nothing but the 'bhog' - prasadam - for 3 days! There is a spicy rice and dal khichri, a spicy (different spice here) mixed vegetable, Luchi (maida pooris), bhaja (fritters), sweet-sour chutney and amazing coconut-jaggery laddoos (called naarkul naadu).
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