Mahalaya – The Count Down for Durga Puja in West Bengal Comes to an End

Mahalaya ushers in the festival of Durga Puja in West Bengal. With the Mahalaya 2010 which is on 7^th September 2010, i.e. today, the countdown for the Durga Puja 2010 has finally come to a grand closing and the new countdown has begin to welcome Goddess Durga to earth. Durga Puja is one of the grandest festivals of India. The Indian festival Durga Puja is mostly celebrated in West Bengal, though several states in India celebrate the Durga Puja festival in their own ways. With the Indian festival of Janmashtami, the countdown for the festival of Durga Puja begins. However, it is only on the Durga Puja Mahalaya day that the ritualistic preparations of this beautiful Indian festival reach its stage of finality.

Adding Final Touches to Idol of Goddess Durga - Durga Puja West Bengal

Rituals of Mahalaya – the onset of Durga Puja

With the coming of the Mahalaya it is believed Goddess Durga, the beloved wife of Lord Shiva of Kailash Mansarovar, prepares to come down to earth with her four children – Goddess Lakhsmi, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Kartik and Lord Ganesha to visit her paternal home. Mahalaya is an auspicious day in the entire Durga Puja festival. This occasion, which heralds the advent of Goddess Durga to her birth place, is observed seven days before the actual Durga Puja festival.

People Offering Mahalaya Tarpan to Ancestors in the Holy Ganges - Mahalaya before Durga Puja Festival

Mahalaya – the auspicious day of remembrance

From the day of Mahalaya begins 'Devipaksha' which marks the ending of the 'Pitri-paksha'. On the day of Mahalaya in India, men dress up in dhotis and offer ‘tarpan’ or prayers for the ancestors on the banks of the Holy Ganga. This is a pre-dawn ritual which is believed to fill the mind, body and soul of the worshipper with the Holy blessings of their ancestors, who come down to earth for 15 days, stay during Mahalaya Amavasya and leave on the Mahalaya new moon day. According to the Durga Puja legends, Mahalaya is the day when the Gods wake up from their divine meditative state to prepare themselves for the Durga Puja festival.

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Northern India Ram Barat and Janakpuri Fair Begins in Agra

The ‘Northern India Ram Barat and Janakpuri Fair’ begins in Agra finally and is all set to woo the spectators from 4^th to 7^th Oct. The festivals of India are myriad and full of the most interesting aspects of celebration, heritage and culture. Here’s yet another festival ready to takeoff with its wings in Agra. Known as ‘Rambarat,’ this Indian festival may not be as heard about as Diwali or Id, but this is an important festival of India, that precedes the popular Dussehra festival. Rambarat is a special marriage procession of Lord Ram, which is held every year in the Taj Mahal city - Agra.

Ramlila

The Rambarat festival is actually a crucial part of Ramlila, which stages the life of Sri Ram and continues till Dussehra with the killing of evil Ravana. The Ramlila or the traditional dance-drama depicting the scenes from Lord Rama’s life, are played by teenage boys, who play the female characters in the play. The festival of Rambarat in India is no less spectacular with its procession of jeweled diety “jhankis,” which are all carried to the ‘Janakpuri’ palace, the paternal home of Lord Rama’s beloved wife – Goddess Sita. The best attraction of the Rambarat festival is the giant fair, where thousands of people flock to witness the elaborate royal wedding of the deities.

The procession

The procession of Rambarat in Agra begins from Lala Channomalji Ki Baradari and ends at venue of Janakpuri, snaking its way past different parts of the Agra city. Sri Rama is mounted on a silver leafed chariot as the divine groom and his brothers are mounted on bejeweled elephants. A celebration to watch out for!!

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The Legends of the Festival Dussehra

India is a land of festivals and each of these colorful festivities of this region epitomizes the aspirations of the people here in terms of culture and religion. Dussehra is one of those beautiful festivals of India which binds the people together in moments of joy and happiness. Dussehra festival is celebrated just after the ‘festival of nine lights’ which is so popularly known as Navratri in India. Dussehra originates from the word "Dasa-Hara", which signifies the cutting off of the ten heads of the evil king Ravan.

As this legendary tale of Dussehra has it, on this very day, Lord Ram, the hero of the epic tale of Ramayana, had defeated the great demon Ravan and killed him. The tenth day after the nine day celebrations of the Navratri festival, Dussehra also happens to fall on the same day as Vijaya Dashami. The Vijayadashami festival marks the end of the festival of Durga Puja in West Bengal when the Goddess Durga and her family of other Gods and Goddesses are bid a tearful farewell by immersing their earthen idols in the holy river of Ganga.

Vijayadashami celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. The festival of Dussehra is also reminiscent of another classic legendary tale. The celebration of Dussehra commemorates the end of the exile days of the Pandava princes and the return to their kingdom. The celebration of this colorful festival is carried out it in a different way in different parts of the country. In Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh Barley seeds are planted on the first day of the Navratri festival. On the tenth day i.e. on Dussehra, the sprouts of the seed are used as the holy symbol of luck.

In the northern part of India and in some parts of Southern India, the festival of Dussehra is rejoiced by staging dramas of Ram’s victory over Ravan, traditionally known as Ramleela. This ancient way of celebrating Dussehra is brought to a joyful end by burning the giant effigies of Ravan. Dussehra is better known as Dasara in Mysore and this extravagant festival is celebrated by holding a grand procession carrying the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari on an elephant-mounted golden throne. 

In Karnataka, the festival is celebrated by worshiping the everyday items like books, computers, machinery, vehicles, kitchen items, agricultural tools and others. In Andhra Pradesh, huge effigies of Kumbhkarn and Ravan are burned to celebrate the triumph of Lord Ram. The celebration of Dasha-Hara in Madikeri ages back to more than 100 years down the lanes of history.

On this occasion, follows the glorious procession of ten mandapas from the ten different temples. The day ends by burning the effigies of Kumbhkarn, Ravan and Meghnad. In Maharashtra the ritual is known as Seemollanghan when people cross their village or town border. Thus, Dussehra in every part of India is celebrated with great pomp and splendor and no matter what the reason, at the end of the day this wonderful Indian festival gives out one special message which says - ‘the good always shines over evil’.