Friday, August 15, 2008
Amader Durga Puja
Durga Puja (Bengali: দুর্গা পূজা, ‘Worship of Durga’), also referred as Durgotsab (Bengali: দুর্গোৎসব, ‘Festival of Durga’) is an annual Bengali festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the five days observed as Sashthi , Maha Saptami, Mahashtami, Maha Nabami and Bijoya Dashami. The dates of Durga Puja celebrations are set according to traditional Bengali Calendar and the fortnight corresponding the festival is called Debi Pokkho (Bengali: দেবী পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Goddess’). Debi Pokkho is preceded by Mahalaya (Bengali: মহালয়া), the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Pokkho (Bengali: পিতৃ পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Forefathers’), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja (Bengali: কোজাগরী লক্ষ্মী পূজা, ‘Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori Full Moon Night’)
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in West Bengal and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. Not only it is the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from West Bengal, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and in some parts of India including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh. Nowadays, many non-residential Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in the countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Kuwait etc also. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum. [1]
The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj in Bengal. After the Hindu reformists resemble Durga with India, she had become an icon for the Indian independence movement. On the first quarter of 20th Century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja was popularised due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world.
Durga Puja includes the worships of Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kartikeya and Mahishasura also. Modern tradition have come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically depicted idols of Durga, exchange of Bijoya Greetings and publication of Puja Annuals.
Durga Puja is widely celebrated in West Bengal and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. Not only it is the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart from West Bengal, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and in some parts of India including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and Bangladesh. Nowadays, many non-residential Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in the countries like United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Kuwait etc also. In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum. [1]
The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj in Bengal. After the Hindu reformists resemble Durga with India, she had become an icon for the Indian independence movement. On the first quarter of 20th Century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja was popularised due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world.
Durga Puja includes the worships of Shiva, Lakshmi, Ganesha, Saraswati, Kartikeya and Mahishasura also. Modern tradition have come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically depicted idols of Durga, exchange of Bijoya Greetings and publication of Puja Annuals.
The wine
Wine: Petite Sirah (0 )Wine Type: Petite SirahReview: It will be hard to find many Petite Sirah as rich and complex as the 2004 David Fulton Petite Sirah. Sourced from old vineyards in St. Helena, this superb bottling reveals a deep ruby purple opaque color and offers aromas of ripe blackberry fruit, saddle leather, earth, and toasty oak with a touch o.... read more >>
Wine: Signorello Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (0 )Wine Type: Cabernet SauvignonReview: “Very fine and rich, especially the texture, which is as velvety smooth as Napa Cab gets. The tannins are a wonder, perfectly ripe and soft, which gives the wine a feminine mouthfeel. But the oak and fruit are pure power.”– SH.... read more >>
Wine: Cabernet Franc (0 )Wine Type: Cabernet FrancReview: Traditionally made of 100% Cabernet Franc grapes, this full-bodied example from 2005 got my attention the moment I rolled it over taste buds. Smooth, rich, defined, with substantial weight on the palate, it shows integrated black fruit wrapped around a core of warm spice with hints of leather and mi.... read more >>
Wine: Caymus Conundrum (3 )Wine Type: White BlendReview: .... read more >>
In Vino Veritas - Turning a New (Grape) Leaf by: Valeria CarranoExploring Israeli Wines read more >>
Couple Goes All In on French Vineyard by: Karen KitchenerA financially secure couple decides to invest all of their resources into purchasing a vineyard in Southern France. read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS - Put a (Natural) Cork In It! by: Valeria CarranoNatural corks have some surprising benefits, and might even save the planet! read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS - Health Benefits of Wine by: Valeria CarranoSome quick research finds some positive health aspects of drinking red wine. read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS – Campania Region of Italy by: Valeria CarranoWelcome to my new wine column. I will be writing weekly about one of my favorite things: wine! Through my column we will enjoy traveling, tasting, and learning about wine, regions and vineyards together. Salute! read more >>
Tasting Like An Expert: A Quick Guide to the World of Wine Tasting by: Martin JaureguiLearn how to be a professional wine taster. read more >>
The Steps to Success: How Wine is Made by: Martin JaureguiAlthough wines can typically be made out of any fruit juice, most wines are made from good old-fashioned grapes and grape juice. Besides the grapes, factors such as the strain of yeast, soil conditions and climate also contribute to the taste and overall quality of the wine. read more >>
Wine: Signorello Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (0 )Wine Type: Cabernet SauvignonReview: “Very fine and rich, especially the texture, which is as velvety smooth as Napa Cab gets. The tannins are a wonder, perfectly ripe and soft, which gives the wine a feminine mouthfeel. But the oak and fruit are pure power.”– SH.... read more >>
Wine: Cabernet Franc (0 )Wine Type: Cabernet FrancReview: Traditionally made of 100% Cabernet Franc grapes, this full-bodied example from 2005 got my attention the moment I rolled it over taste buds. Smooth, rich, defined, with substantial weight on the palate, it shows integrated black fruit wrapped around a core of warm spice with hints of leather and mi.... read more >>
Wine: Caymus Conundrum (3 )Wine Type: White BlendReview: .... read more >>
In Vino Veritas - Turning a New (Grape) Leaf by: Valeria CarranoExploring Israeli Wines read more >>
Couple Goes All In on French Vineyard by: Karen KitchenerA financially secure couple decides to invest all of their resources into purchasing a vineyard in Southern France. read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS - Put a (Natural) Cork In It! by: Valeria CarranoNatural corks have some surprising benefits, and might even save the planet! read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS - Health Benefits of Wine by: Valeria CarranoSome quick research finds some positive health aspects of drinking red wine. read more >>
IN VINO VERITAS – Campania Region of Italy by: Valeria CarranoWelcome to my new wine column. I will be writing weekly about one of my favorite things: wine! Through my column we will enjoy traveling, tasting, and learning about wine, regions and vineyards together. Salute! read more >>
Tasting Like An Expert: A Quick Guide to the World of Wine Tasting by: Martin JaureguiLearn how to be a professional wine taster. read more >>
The Steps to Success: How Wine is Made by: Martin JaureguiAlthough wines can typically be made out of any fruit juice, most wines are made from good old-fashioned grapes and grape juice. Besides the grapes, factors such as the strain of yeast, soil conditions and climate also contribute to the taste and overall quality of the wine. read more >>
Journey Home
The time that my journey takes is long and the way of it long.
I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light, and pursued my
voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planet.
It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself,
and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune.
The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own,
and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.
My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said `Here art thou!'
The question and the cry `Oh, where?' melt into tears of a thousand
streams and deluge the world with the flood of the assurance `I am!'
I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light, and pursued my
voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planet.
It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself,
and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune.
The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own,
and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.
My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said `Here art thou!'
The question and the cry `Oh, where?' melt into tears of a thousand
streams and deluge the world with the flood of the assurance `I am!'
Leave This
Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground
and where the pathmaker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance?
Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation;
he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground
and where the pathmaker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance?
Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation;
he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
Flower
Pluck this little flower and take it, delay not! I fear lest it
droop and drop into the dust.
I may not find a place in thy garland, but honour it with a touch of
pain from thy hand and pluck it. I fear lest the day end before I am
aware, and the time of offering go by.
Though its colour be not deep and its smell be faint, use this flower
in thy service and pluck it while there is time.
droop and drop into the dust.
I may not find a place in thy garland, but honour it with a touch of
pain from thy hand and pluck it. I fear lest the day end before I am
aware, and the time of offering go by.
Though its colour be not deep and its smell be faint, use this flower
in thy service and pluck it while there is time.
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