Bijaya Dashami
As they say, ‘all good things come to an end’. The grandest festival of Bengal and one of the most popularly celebrated festivals of the entire country ends in the grandest possible way on the day of Dashami. From a ritualistic aspect, this day is not as eventful as the previous four days but is no less important. Unlike the other days, the goddess is served a unique meal as bhog. Instead of a freshly prepared khichuri, bhaja, bhaat, daal, torkari and payesh and other items served on the previous three days, she is served the leftovers of nabami. Along with these for the quintessential ‘folar’ made of flattened rice, sweetened curd and bananas are prepared. It is believed, that Ma Durga takes this ‘folar’ with her on her way back to Kailash Mountain.
Not only is the bhog served to Ma Durga on Dashami is different, but the anjali is incredibly unique. Also called as ‘pradaksheen pushpanjali’ or more commonly as ‘bera anjali’, devotees, stand in a queue and they go around the idol fully encircling her three times chanting the mantra before offering the flowers. This ritual follows tearing of the holy string that is tied around the bamboo frame, as the ‘bishorjon’ happens. This marks the end of the puja.
The puja may end in the morning, but the festivities doesn’t. The ritualistic ‘bishorjon’ happens within the ‘tithi’ mentioned in the ‘ponjika’, but pujo is incomplete without ‘boron’, ‘shindur khela’ and ‘bhashan’. These may not be written in the scriptures and shastras, but Bengalis have made it an extremely essential part of the pujo experience.
It is, on the day of Dashami, that the countdown for next year’s pujo begins. The feeling of ‘pujo asche’ is something savoured by one and all. Once pujo is here, the days pass in the blink of an eye. Thus, the wait has a completely different meaning than any other.
Throughout this series, we have tried to exhibit the several rituals and practices during these auspicious 10 days observed all across the country. But it safe to say, that nothing can be executed flawlessly. Some tiny mistakes always find their way. But, as the saying goes, “all’s well that ends well”, if the ending to these grand festivities is perfect, then the pujo has gone well.