Jamshedpur Durga Puja: Kash and Shiuli flowers announce Mother’s advent amidst Her mortal children

Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu …

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Oct 18: Kash and Shiuli flowers herald the advent of Ma Durga amidst Her mortal children rekindling the flickers of joy that has hibernated under the ashes of daily living through one challenging year.

Circumstances have changed through time, choices and preferences have altered, the celebratory spirit has been dipped in different hues but the joy and excitement that Durgotsav brings along have traditionally remained unaffected by the challenges of advancing times.

The soul continues to scale the ladder of the Puja milieu with the dhak beats and the aura of joy engulfs mankind. This is the hallmark that Durgotsav stamps to guarantee four days of joyous living through the remaining days of daily death.
Jamshedpur and its suburbs have seen the mushrooming of Durga Puja committees and puja pandals.

The initial 1900s saw a few scattered public Durga Puja celebrations that could be counted on finger tips but with time, migratory human masses, multi-hued cultures and traditions, the exciting and enhanced spirit of worshipping and celebrating Durga Puja grew in leaps and bounds and, as on date, more than 360 big and small, family and community pujas dot the city and suburban skyline.

Among these Puja pandals, some maintain their traditional and simple décor, the Mother continues to glitter in Ek Chala Daker Shaaj, but with moving time-styles, the idols of the Devi, Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi and Lords Ganesh and Kartik are designed and placed in positions that reflect free-flowing artistic concepts.

Big named puja pandals that become the overcrowded haunts of pandal hoppers bring to devotees replicas of temples, citadels, haunted palaces, forts, forests and sometimes, the divine courts of Gods – and this tradition continues and grows to unfold newer and bolder concepts with every passing Durgotsav.
Another comparatively new development, and perhaps well calculated, is the inauguration of major and most beckoning Puja Pandals much ahead of the, till recently, Shashthi Utsav; and these inaugurations are performed by political leaders, social workers and other who’s-who in public domain.
One of the top draw Durga Puja pandals noted for its design and decor, Parveen Singh Seva Sansthan (formerly Jairam Sporting Club) in Adityapur, whose Patron is popular social worker and former Legislator, Malkhan Singh, was inaugurated on Mahalaya day by BJP National Vice President, Raghubar Das. Another top-bracketed among richly and artistically decorated Puja Pandals, the Thakur Pyara Singh-Thakur Dhurandar Singh Club Durga Puja Committee’s 2023 offering themed on environment and green earth, was inaugurated amidst celebratory frenzy by one of the state’s tallest BJP leaders, Babulal Marandi on Tuesday, October 17. He also inaugurated the Ranikudar Sarvajanin Durga Puja Committee’s Pandal in Kadma. Simultaneously, another spot of pandal hoppers’ pilgrimage sites, the Kadma Rankini Mandir Durga Puja Committee’s Pandal, was inaugurated by eminent social worker, Shekhar Dey.
These Durga Puja Pandal inaugurations taking place comparatively earlier may be considered a part of positive steps to reduce thronging crowds and chaos; early inaugurations may have been conceived to allow pandal hoppers to have a ‘deko’ of the décor more leisurely than during the ‘saptami-ashtami-navami’ rush that entails dashing, pushing and perspiration-laden madness which allows no room for appreciating the artistic décor presentations.
Many other pandals too have been inaugurated and some more have been lined up for today and tomorrow. The intoxicating dhak-beats are closing in and already can be heard in the not-too-far distance. The Durgotsav spirit is taking grip.
‘Esho Ma Amader Majhey…’