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It’s puja time again

CUTTACK: Amid bhajans and keertans, puja committees of the Silver city collected sacred soil from rivers on Tuesday to prepare clay idols of goddess Durga for the ensuing Dusara next month.

With this, the preparations for the annual six-day revelry began giving an indication that festive ambience would soon descend on the city which was known better for its lavish way of celebrating Durga Puja.

Over 80 committees, which worship goddess Durga in their mandaps, went in colourful processions to the banks of Mahanadi. After performing several rituals, they collected the sacred soil called ‘Ganga Mati’ to be used for making idols of the goddess.

“Ganga Mati is collected the day following Janmastami as it is believed that the goddess took birth the day after Lord Krishna was born,” says Diwakar Panda, a priest of a mandap here.

“On the auspicious day, we collect the sacred soil from the riverbed after performing rituals, which is then worshiped at the Devi ghars until it is used in idol-making,” Panda said.

Traditionally, the soil for idol-making in Cuttack was collected from the Mahanadi and the idols after puja would be immersed in the Kathajodi.

“After collection of soil, we engage artisans to make idols. They will be completed before Mahalaya, the next new moon day, exactly six days before the Mahasashti puja of the goddess,” said a member of the puja committee in Bidyadharpur.

As per tradition, chalk lime would be used by artisans called ‘Khadi Utha’ to paint the eyes of the goddess on Mahalaya to get them spruced up for a fine look with other paints, attires and jewellery, he added.

The Millennium city this time would have around 150 mandaps of which some 80 would worship goddess Durga while the rest would have Hara-Parvati duo.

Only clay idols would be part of the immersion festival called ‘Bhasani’ in local parlance.

Since Durga puja was the beginning of the community puja of the current season, Bhai chara (fellow feeling) comes in for real test during this period.

Community policing also comes into picture during the period to help the police ward off any commotion.

Sahi murabis (local heads) play a pivotal role between the police and the people in the efforts to maintain peace.

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