Durga Puja – The carnival of emotions !!
Goddess Chandraghanta & 3rd day of Durga Puja
“I will go home today and decide which dress to wear on which day”, I heard a young girl of 13 say to her friends. “Wow! You are so lucky. You are done with your shopping. I haven’t even started”, her friend replied.
The 3rd day of Navratri is here and the world is drowning in the intoxicating mirth of MAA’s homecoming. Be it the kids, the teenagers or the adults, everybody is at their highest spirits to celebrate this carnival. And Ranchi has been the hub of beauty, lavishness, and creativity during the puja season for the people of Jharkhand. From replicating temples to depicting palaces through their art, the puja workers actually do a commendable task. I don’t think offering the uniqueness and magnificence by 100s of Pandals is less than a treat for the people to watch. Hinoo, Bakri Bazar, Ratu Road or Station Road, deciding which one to upvote and which one to leave out is indeed a difficult task.
The world has a lot to offer if you are a keen observer. Standing silently I observed a lot this puja season that captured my attention. ‘Ladies all excited about the shopping they would do not just for themselves but for their families and for the grand puja too. Kids all engrossed in the merriment of their vacations, Men all eagerly waiting for the holidays to start so they could indulge in relaxation, and the vendors, shopkeepers, and hawkers all devising new techniques to promote the age-old selling concept.’
But the most subtle thought that grabbed my attention was the fact that the world is so fascinated about celebrating this carnival but are we not running away from the main motive of all this merrymaking? Are we not neglecting the protagonist of this story?
Today is the 3rd day of Navratri and goddess Chandraghanta is worshiped today. She is the symbol of courage, bravery, and grace and removes all evils and perils. Her name ‘Chandra-ghanta’ represents “one who has a half-moon shaped like a bell.” Her third eye is always open and she is ever ready for war against the demons. It is believed that after Mata Parvati’s tough penance to get Lord Shiva as her divine consort Lord Shiva agreed to marry her. He took a terrifying and hideous appearance and went for his marriage. This terrified Mata Parvati’s family. To save them from the terror, she herself took a hideous form of “maa Chandraghanta” and persuaded Lord Shiva to appear as a handsome man.
But in this fast-moving world how many of us even know the backstory of those things we tend to crave or run for? Not all of us are actually celebrating Durga puja relishing and devoting ourselves to MAA’s benevolence. I hope just as MAA Chandraghanta recognized Lord Shiva even in his hideous appearance, she gives us the power and ability to bring out the true motives of everything we do in our lives.