Dashami - saying goodbye to ma durga with a promise to meet again the net year

Dashami is the final day of this festival,after many rituals Ma Durga( Idol ) is prepared for her departure...with the sound of beating drums,chants and the devotees aiming flowers and rice grains at Ma's idol it is a very emotional moment.....you will see many moist eyes when the idol is finally lifted with a roaring sound of DURGA MAI KI JAI(meaning Victory To Thee Ma Durga).Here is the picture from our naam ghar at Laban.

Here comes out Ma for her departure from the Earth only to return back the next year.At this moment here in Assam specific Naam(prayers/songs) are sung by women devotees......the procession leads towards the Bhasoni a place mostly a river where the idol is finally immersed for Bisorjan .All this takes place between very tight security .Many devotees accompany the vehicle carrying the Idol in their own cars or by foot but i always stop at this point and with tearful eyes see her go by.

Ladies singing Durga-naam.

Laban Naam Ghar......Kumari-Puja during Durga Puja

This picture is of evening Aarti performed by the head-priest.....they wear red during that time.As i was told that this year Goddess came to Earth(aagman) by DOLA(a special carriage lifted by hands) which is believed to bring misfortunes on her arrival and will go back (gaman) by an Elephant which says that brings extreme luck for the country after her departure .
During this five day long celebration a special ritual KUMARI-PUJA is performed where young girls are worshipped as Goddess......these two girls are dressed up as Goddess and puja-rituals are being performed.I am not sure if these kids understand anything that is going on but they do seem to enjoy and behave extremely well throughout...
Once the puja ends Anjali and blessings are given when all the devotees present get up and offer their prayers.

Laban Naam Ghar Shillong( estd.1935).

  DURGAPUJA is celebrated in a big but simple way in Shillong at our LABAN NAAM GHAR...a NAAM-GHAR is a community prayer hall .This naam ghar was established in 1935,my family tells me that as long as they remember Durga-Puja is always observed here by the Assamese community .Shillong is a Christian dominant area with a population comprising of people from different states and religion......people from all other community too participate in this festival with equal enthusiasm.This is a view of Laban naam ghar ....this place holds a very special place in my heart as this is the place where i learnt a lot about Assamese culture and its people.....i was accepted,loved,blessed in a very special way right here.

Attached to it there is a newly built Shiva and Ganesha Temple.....built by the naam ghar committee after raising public donation combined with naam ghar fund..
This is the prayer hall where women sing naam(prayers),it is divided into two sides left and right.During Puja starting from the sixth day(SASTHI) we gather here two times a day once in the morning another in the evening for aarti.This photo was taken very early when the crowd was minimal....the reason we go early is so that we can lite sakis(diyas or lamps)before the rush hour and at the same time help in making BOLOY(a holy wrist band made with yellow cloth and rice grains,mustard seeds,aparajeeta leaves,durva)which is distributed amongst all the devotees on Dashami(tenth day).....the lady looking down is my favorite" plum aunty"or Sharma aunty as lovingly i call her because when the first time i met her she gave me a bag full of plums from her garden,sitting behind are our aunt,ma and my sister-in -law.As you must have noticed we wear either white or off white preferably during morning hours.
Its too early and all the priest are too gearing up for the different rituals.....we have a permanent sthapana or the stage for MA DURGA'S idol.Every year a devotee family sponsors the cost of idol and to get this honor there is a long waiting list,we booked for it three years back,our turn will come on 2012.The naam ghar is a busy place now with growing crowd,chants,sound of taal and dhool.This group comes here every year ...they play taal and dhool for five days long celebrations.In my next post i will share few more of my experiences with you friends...till than take care.

Guwahati to Shillong (Scotland Of East )

Every year we celebrate Durga-Puja or Dusherra at our house in Shillong....Shillong is a very beautiful hill station and is the Capital of our sister state Meghalaya....my husband's family has been living there since it was a part of undivided Assam,its only in 1972 Meghalaya achieved statehood.It is approximatly 105 kms.away from Guwahati(my city).Shillong is also known as Scotland of East.The journey between Guwahati to Shillong is always a wonderful experience for us....the fresh hill air,beautiful spots,little stall like road side shops .If you decide to travel leisurely it takes approxm. three to three and half hours to reach Shillong from Guwahati.This week i will write on Durga puja celebrations by Assamese community in Shillong

These pictures are of Barrapani a breathtakingly beautiful spot on the way.

As i mentioned earlier these local road side stall like shops offer varieties of local fruits and vegetables...we bought Khasi -kol(bananas),Madhuri-aam(Guava),Joha Kumura(a variety of aromatic squash)....this lady(called" Kong "in Khasi language) was very friendly and helpful,she offered her knife to cut the Guavas into pieces for my kids.You can see home made pickles in bottles....i have never tried these.

This Kongs was selling fresh Bamboo-Shoots a favorite delicacy of this region.....i would like to write about bamboo-shoots someday.