Twenty Eight Handed Goddess Durga Of Bishnupur--Guwahati 2010

In the North East part of India Sharadiya Navaratri is celebrated as Durga -Puja.The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to the traditional Hindu Calendar in the month of Ashwin which is the beginning of the winters.It falls in the months of Sep -Oct.As Durga Puja represents celebration of the Goddess as Shakti ,all her nine different forms are worshiped during these nine days.With its religious significance this festival has turned into a huge socio cultural event here.People participate in this celebration irrespective of their religion,backgrounds and beliefs.Beautiful pandals are build in different areas of the city(pandals are temporary structure made with bamboo and cloth ,these pandals are used as temporary temple to worship the goddess).While some of the pandals are simple structures, others are often elaborate works of art with themes that are based on history, current affairs and sometimes pure imagination.Pujas are mainly financed by the local people and communities and as it is in trend many corporate houses too sponsor this event.

Right now my city Guwahati is celebrating puja like never before .There are elaborate puja pandals and glittering lights all around.To avoid the traffic jams and overcrowd me and my family  chose to visit pandals in  morning hours only .Today is Mahasaptami (7th day of navratri),we started our round by visiting this puja pandal which has made a 30ft high idol of Ma Durga.Bishnupur Durga Puja Committee is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee this year.Making of the idols started right here at the same spot since the month of May this year.A huge crowd is flocking the pandal to have a look at this amazing idol .... at least i have never seen such a huge and beautiful idol of Goddess Durga ever before.

In this pandal Goddess Durga is shown in Mayatara form.She has got 28 hands here.After killing and destroying all the demons and evil forces when Ma Durga was still very angry ,28 sadhakas (devotees) approached her for eternal calm ,peace and prosperity.Ma Durga then rose with 28 hands to fulfill the wishes of the sadhakas with 28 lotuses in her hand.We asked the volunteers there that how are they going to immerse the idol on the day of Dashami(tenth day of the festival)....they said that fire brigade will help them here by splashing water on the idols using several trucks at the same time.Very clever !The committee also displayed Navdurga i.e.nine forms of the Goddess Durga 
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               Navadurga : nine forms of Goddess Durga

.Shailputri :she is the daughter of the mountain Himalaya

.Bhramhacharini : that who observes penance and good conduct.
.Chandraghanta :There is a half circular moon on the forehead of this form of Durga.
Kusumnanda :this form creates universe by mere laughing.She resides in solar system.
Katyayani :she took birth as the daughter of one rishi named Katyan who had observed penance with a desire to get Ma Durga as a daughter.

.Skandamata :After getting married to Lord Shiva ,the daughter of Himalaya had a son named Skanda-hence Skandamata.
Kaalratri: she is black like night.
Mahagauri and Siddhidhatri : Mahagauri is as fair as conch ,Moon or jasmine.There are eight siddhis :this form is worshiped by yogis and also devotees to attain best religious fruits.
There are more posts to come... i will try to post the pictures of a pandal whose theme is Titanic.

  I WISH ALL MY FRIENDS A VERY HAPPY DURGA PUJA - i wish for you blessings of joy,prosperity and good fortune .