It’s an age when the Sun holds blackened candles of the night. When humankind is clothed in bloody garments stained by the open wounds of Destruction’s Satanic Will. And we are made to  feel deep within an urge to find a safe haven where we wonder if our childhood dreams of falling through the skies as the apocalypse loosens its belt would come true or we would be levitating into the Divine Cosmos away from this Diabolic Earth.

Then, through the shimmering brightness of the October skies I gape mesmerized at that beautiful and luminous face, chiseled by Shiva, who articulates with blazing eyes “I am Durga, the unattainable. I am Shakti, the most omnipotent force that enables all living beings to feel, think, act and react. I am the first and the last. I am found by you who seek me. I am a silence incomprehensible but to those who can hear my celestial presence, through the heat of fire, the rush of the wind, the dampness of the soil, the magnificence of the Universe. I am the voice whose sound is manifold. I am the bestower of all desires. I am the utterance of my name.”

My eyes brim with irrepressible tears as I bow to the auspicious one, the Power Divine: “Om Sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvaartha saadhike, Sharanye thrayambake Gouri Narayani namostute” I recall the various lores I had heard as a child, about the incarnation of Goddess Durga. When Mahisasura, the buffalo Demon appeared to be invincible the Holy Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva drove themselves into an irrevocable fury and out of this combined wrath was born Goddess Durga, the unassailable Shakti, the manifestation of the feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Her face was carved from the light of Shiva. Her ten arms were from Vishnu. Her legs were from Brahma. Shiva gave her his trident and Vishnu gave her his rotating disc. Varuna, the God of the sea, gave her a conch and Agni gave her a missile. From the wind God, Vayu, she received arrows. The king of gods, Indra, gave her his thunderbolt. Viswakarma, Heaven's architect, gave her a bright axe and magic armor. God of mountains, Himalaya, gave her a magnificent lion to ride into battle . The Devi Durga was roused to fury. She caught Mahisasura in her noose, and he changed into a lion. As she severed the lion's head, he transformed into a man with a sword. After she shot him through with arrows, he became an elephant and grabbed her lion with his trunk. Durga chopped off his trunk, and then he reverted to his awesome buffalo form. He hurled mountains at her, and she turned them to dust. He pounded with his hooves until all of the worlds trembled. Drinking a divine potion, Durga warned him that the place where he stood bellowing would be the place where the gods would rejoice in his death. She leapt on him, piercing him with her spear. Mahisasura emerged, fighting, from the mouth of the buffalo, but Durga beheaded him with a clean stroke of her sword. Thus Maa Durga became the centrifugal force who embodied primeval energy that arose from the depths of the Universe and whose unbridled power assuaged distress and malevolence and blessed Earth with accord and happiness.

According to the Ramayana, Lord Rama had invoked upon the Supreme Devi Durga imploring to be hallowed, so he could rescue his consort Sita from the Lanka king Ravana. In this battle of the Good opposed to Evil Lord Rama emerged the victor and it is believed that Ravana was slain in the period between Asthami and Navami …the Sandhikan as it is called. Lord Rama’s worship of Maa Durga during the autumn month of Ashwin instead of the customary spring month of Chaitra, was a breaking away from tradition. Hence the worship of Durga in autumn is referred to as Akal Bodhon”{Akal means non-conforming and Bodhon means veneration}.
Durga Puja is celebrated with great pageantry all over India. In Maharashtra it is an occasion for fun. The goddess is venerated for nine days On the tenth day, young girls who have not yet attained puberty are invited to the home. They are fed a meal of their preference and they are allowed to play games, sing, and dance. In Punjab Navratri is observed with great austerity. In Karnataka, Dussehra is an extremely popular festival and there is a procession of mounted guardsmen on horse back and decorated elephants, one carrying the palace deity, Chamundeshwari, on a gold 'howdah' marching from the palace to the Banni Mandap. Karnataka celebrates it in honor of Goddess Chamundeswari who killed the great demon, Mahisasura. In Gujarat Navratri is a homage to Amba Mata. Dandiya- Ras-Garba is performed for all nine nights which is quite a glorious spectacle for the onlookers. In Tamil Nadu it is known as Bommai Kolu which is a woman’s festival and homes are decorated with symbolic dolls who personify Art and Divinity. In Kashmir the Goddess is known as Sherawali Mata Durga. The most important ritual for kashmiri pundits is to visit the temple of Kheer Bhawani on all nine days. Durga Puja is a major occasion in Bangladesh and the last day of Durga Puja ‘Bijaya Dashami” is a national holiday in Bangladesh. It may come as a revelation to some, that Durga Puja is celebrated in the Javanese way even in Jakarta in Candis. The most famous temple in Java is the  Candi Lara Jonggan of Prambanan where one of the most outstanding Durga figures is still in place, in the northern niche of the temple.

Durgotsav as it is called in Bengal, commences with Mahalaya. Through the stillness of the autumnal landscape radio stations come alive with the chanting of ““Ya Devi Sarbabhuteshshu, Shakti Rupena Sanksthita Namasteshwai Namasteshwai Namasteshwai Namo Namaha”. As the Mantra breathes life into the wind , our diurnal anxieties are sieved into the air and we are spellbound by our own need to worship the Divine Power. Artisans draw the eyes of the goddess Durga on this day and this process of “Chakshu Daan” brings in the celebratory mood of Sharodotsav. And our hearts say in unison that She is Joy . Her face brings light in times of gloom, she is simply elation. And the Dhakis with {Drummers} create a celestial frenzy  in the hearts of devotees.  On the sixth day of “Devi Paksha” is Shashthi the main puja begins under a Bel tree. On the seventh day or Saptami, the life force of the goddess is brought from a nearby water resource and then swathed in a red and white saree clad banana tree and then restored on the ghat and then back to the image of the goddess. The banana tree which resembles a bride is called “Kola Bou”. This entire process of transmuting life forms from the ghat to the image is known as Bodhon. The eighth and ninth days {Asthami and Navami } are when the main puja is held . Devi Paksha ends on Dashami or the tenth day where the Goddess is immersed in the waters . The idol sinks into the waters and it is indeed a very heartrending spectacle to watch her disappear into the deep waters bidding a last farewell to her devotees.

We experience a sudden void but what stays with us on Dashami is the inception of harmony and amity amongst mankind. A promise made by the goddess that the pall of dread and grief that grips our world today is being lifted and that she is pouring her holy urn of love and righteousness to slake the hearts of those, who ache in pain and fear.