Almost 17 years have passed since that day, but the memory is still etched in the mind of quite a few Kolkatans. Several Hindu and Christian residents in the Muslim-dominated Park Circus-Beniapukur locality of the city’s central part remember the brave resistance of the Imam of a mosque against a fanatic mob from his own community that was about to demolish a Durga shrine at Mullik Bazaar soon after the December 6 demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Similarly, in the state’s northern part, people of Coochbehar cannot but forget how Muslims guarded a Kali temple day and night against possible vandalism.
These aren’t isolated instances of communal harmony. For, this sentiment is what basically weaves the social fabric of the whole of West Bengal.
Take the case of Sheikh Karim. Near Guptipara in southern Hooghly district, he lends the final touch to the Goddess. He sketches in black the eyes of the deity. Worshippers believe with the pupils dotted on its eyes, the deity comes to life. And Biswajit Paul, the main clay-modeller, is thrilled: “Nobody can paint Durga’s eyes as bright as Chacha Karim.” To which, Karim replies with a poignant statement: “See I have no children. So Durga’s children (idols) are my children.”
Durga Puja researcher Partha Chattopadhyay, a senior lecturer at Balagarh College, says Karim would burst into tears every year when the idols were taken away to the venue of puja. “Chacha would say, ‘When my children leave me, I become alone, you know. I weep in my cottage. When I go to the immersion spot, they seem to tell me — Abba, take us back home. I feel helpless’,” he says. Chacha refuses to be photographed: Moccholmander chhobi tulte nei (Taking photographs of Muslims is prohibited.)”
The south-central Burdwan district has a place with an uninterrupted three-century-old legacy of celebrating Durgapuja in a special way. At Samudragarh in Kalna sub-division, the festival is virtually patronised by the Muslim royal family. And both communities — Hindus and Muslims — take part in it.
In many places in north Bengal as well, Muslims take the leading initiative. The genesis of this puja is very interesting. In the 17th century, Nabab Ibrahim Khan (1689-97) was the subedar of Bengal, ruling from Dhaka. Among the regional feudal lords were two Maharajas: Samudragarh’s Ranajit Bhatta Thakur and Krishnanagar’s Ramakrishna Roy. They were once arrested, having failed to pay revenue dues. The terms for their release came with a rider: they had to convert to Islam.
Samudragarh treasury officials managed to muster the money required to bail Thakur out. But Roy was broke. Moved by the plight of his fellow-prisoner, Thakur also deposited the money for Roy — in a way that made the Nawab believe the money came from Krishnanagar. Roy was released a Hindu, while Thakur had to embrace Islam. The forced conversion left him sad, but privately he continued with every Hindu religious festival and rites. The king continued to worship the deity, lovingly addressed Burima — old granny — and also Lochanmata (mother with beautiful eyes).
The tradition that Thakur preserved is still alive, although not kicking in terms of grandeur and extravaganza. The Muslims follow the custom, set out by a king in Samudragarh, which is now a semi-urban area. On the Mahanavami, Goddess Durga is offered bhog with Hilsa fish — a very rare ritual. Menu on the last day of Vijaya Dashami includes wet boiled-rice, sour-fish and vegetable of banana-stems. Interestingly, Durga is not Sinhavahini (riding a lion). Samudragarh’s deity rides a rhino, which is extremely rare.
There are some equally curious styles of celebrating Durgapuja, some of them initiated by the Muslims in the pre-British period. Like, in Barasat, on Kolkata’s outskirts. The main inspiration to this puja came from Queen Jodhabai, the first wife of Akbar. Sankar Chattopadhyay, the priest, was taken a prisoner by the Mughal emperor’s successor, Jehangir. The Brahmin resorted to a hunger strike when he was not allowed to offer tarpan in Mahalaya. Jodhabai interfered and facilitated his return. Jehangir felt repentant.
Muslims participate indirectly in the puja — but in a big way at that. Tens of thousands of lotus are plucked by Muslims in Purba Medinipur district which includes Nandigram. The exquisite artistry in Daker Saj is special to Muslim craftsmen, whose nimble fingers create wonderful pieces of art on pith.
Outside Bengal too, such traditions of harmony exist. In Bihar’s Dhanbad district, a group of Muslims have been organising Durga Puja at the Bhuli colony since the late 1980s. “Durga Puja being a festival of triumph of integrity and good over evil, you can’t restrict it to one particular community,” asserts Mohammad Nausad, an office-bearer of the Sarvajanik Durga Puja Samiti that organised the four-day puja in 2007.
The pandal — a replica of Delhi’s Lotus Temple of the Baha’i community — was mainly the responsibility of Muslims. “People of our community participate in the event, like in decorating the pandal and organising the puja,” he adds. Bhuli is, of course, a Muslim-majority coal miners’ colony, but on such occasions the community statistics mean nothing.
— sankar.ray@gmail.com
ASSAM
MANY AVATARS OF THE SAME DEVI
Up above the plains, in the rugged lands of Assam and several other parts of the Northeast, the idols of Durga gain varied looks — almost with the change in the hills. Different clans of Adivasis worship the goddess in forms other than Dashabhuja (ten-armed). The most well known is in Guwahati — at the Ugra Tara temple.
A Sakta shrine, the deity Ugra Tara is identified also with some of the Buddhist forms. The idol (also called Maha-Cina-Tara) was imported from Tibet through Nepal, courtesy Tantric Buddhists. It is said the navel of Sati fell on this spot, which later became one of the seven Sakti Peethas. During Durgapuja, Ugra Tara’s menu includes liquor, flesh, narcotics, coconuts and sugarcane.
Also in Guwahati is the famous Kamakhya temple, where every year 15 to 20 buffaloes are sacrificed during the Durga Puja. It is said that the vagina of Sati fell there — and is another Sakti Peeth.
There are several variants of Durga, mainly from Ugra Tara: Kachaikhaiki or Tamoreswari at Sadia, Malini in Dibrugarh. The adivasis of Northeastern states worship different variants of the goddess: the Garos’ Durga is Fajoo, while the Khasis render their offerings to Kamikhya. Ahoms’ deity is Subasini.
Pradip Chandra Das, Guwahati University’s professor of folk literature, notes that the different forms and deities of Durga evolved through folklores and myths across the adivasis. “The sacrifice of animals is a compulsory ritual as they believe the deity is not pleased without blood,” he adds.
— SR