Feel America in Durga Puja Count Down!

[Palash]

Feel America in Durga Puja Count Down!

Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 50

Palash Biswas
http://troubledgalaxydetroyeddreams.blogspot.com/

The Hindu Business Line Durga puja celebrations
HYDERABAD The onelakh odd Bengaliswho have made the twin cities their
home away from home have geared up to celebrate Durga puja here Those
who are slated ...
www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003/10/01/stories/2003100102111701.htm -
12k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
» !!!!! Here is an news article about Durga Puja Small Business ...
SEO, Internet Marketing blog for Small business. ... Durga Puja in
Kolkata is synonymous with lights and this year too the artists of
Chandannagore create ...
www.arun.info/blog/archives/2004/10/22/here-is-an-news-article-about-durga-puja/
- 38k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this


Will Left get the 'right' response?

Soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared that the government
would "very soon" approach the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to move forward on the Indo-US nuclear deal, an upset Left
announced withdrawal of support to the UPA government. The move ended
weeks of suspense on the issue. Now, with the PM declaring that there
is no threat to the government’s stability, stage is set for a flurry
of activities on the political scene. The Communists had also come
down heavily on the government for approaching the IAEA to finalise
the India-specific safeguards pact. With more and more support making
the number game crucial, the big question is whether the determined
Left parties will be able to rock the Indo-US nuke deal boat?
Hindustantimes.com brings together the stories that have dominated the
popular mood in the recent times.

Also read Whither nuclear deal?

Convincing them is the key



Indo-US Agreements
A Strong, United & Clear Voice of Indo American Community. Contact Us
Nuclear Imaging Equipment
We Offer All Models Of The Nuclear Camera. Reconditioned & Warrantied!

Pramit Pal Chaudhuri , Hindustan Times
August 20, 2008
First Published: 23:07 IST(20/8/2008)
Last Updated: 23:15 IST(20/8/2008)


Print



Nothing, not even mushroom clouds, gets nuclear non-proliferation
zealots into a frenzy more than talk of spreading enrichment and
reprocessing (ENR) technology. This acronym may prove to be the single
biggest hurdle to India ending its nuclear isolation when the Nuclear
Suppliers Group meets in Vienna today.

The reason is that both technologies pave the way to atom bomb-
building. Enrich uranium above a certain point and it’s warhead-ready.
Reprocessing lets you strain glow-in-the-dark waste for fissile
material. “Non-proliferation experts worry about reprocessing because
it allows for the separation of pure plutonium from spent fuel rods,”
says physicist R. Rajaraman. “In principle, it can be used directly to
make weapons.” Thou Shalt Not Spread ENR Tech is the 11th commandment
of arms control.

The fact that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal leaves the door
slightly ajar for India to access ENR equipment has made the New
Zealand-to-Norway anti-nuclear axis so noisy in the run-up to Vienna.
Their other demands include penalties for nuclear testing and a
periodic review to see whether India isn’t N-cheating on the sly.

How enrichment and reprocessing has been seen in the eyes of various
countries is a parable on how the Indo-US nuclear deal is understood
by different players. For India, getting access to ENR was both a
right and a requirement. ‘Full civil nuclear cooperation’ with the US
had to include some ENR stuff, though the US doesn’t share this even
with close allies. Section 104 of the Hyde Act allows India to get
some ENR equipment and material under certain conditions. US
proliferation expert Sharon Squassoni complained that the deal made
India “a legitimate reprocessing State”.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=ce61c7ed-2568-4c58-89ee-76f2e869ce74Nucleardealimbroglio_Special&&Headline=Convincing+them+is+the+key


IBNLive.com
Nokia, Samsung, Motorola unperturbed by iPhone
Business Standard - 5 hours ago
PTI / New Delhi August 21, 2008, 16:54 IST As Apple's ultimate mobile
gadget 'iPhone' prepares to conquer gizmo geeks in India, rival camps
are anything but perturbed saying the iconic touchscreen phone was
hardly a threat to their sales.
iPhone at midnight: A fantasy turned sour? Times of India
iPhone to be unveiled in India at midnight today Hindu




Sify
Nifty futures end in discount first time Aug
Economic Times - 3 hours ago
MUMBAI: Nifty futures ended in discount for the first in August series
as stocks plunged on Thursday on weak global cues and expectations
that the rising inflation may push RBI to hike rates again.
Mkts ends in deep red; Bank, Realty down 5% Moneycontrol.com
Finanical, real estate stocks pull down Sensex Business Standard
Sify - Livemint - India Infoline.com - Myiris.com
all 160 news articles »

India, Nasa tie up for Chandrayaan
Times of India - 20 hours ago
MUMBAI: Preparing to its first unmanned mission to moon,
Chandrayaan-1, between October and December, India joined seven other
nations to team up with Nasa for the future exploration of earth's
only satellite.
Chandrayaan-I set for launch later this year: Kasturirangan Business
Standard
Moon mission The Statesman


BBC News
Shilpa’s emotional connection with Goody!
Times of India -

1 hour ago
And guess what, she’s found many sympathisers here, prominent among
them is none other Shilpa Shetty, the host of Bigg Boss. Shilpa, we
hear, was very concerned.
Bigg Boss members bid good-bye to Jade Bollywood Mantra
Payal returns with a bang in Bigg Boss Oneindia
Rediff - BBC News - Sify - South Asian Focus
all 48 news articles »



Just feel America!

Feel America in Durga puja Count down!

Banga or Vanga was never a part of Arya varta! It was the land of
ASURAS!

Durga was invoked to crush the asuras and capture the Anarya Bhoomi,
the Cursed forbidden land for the vaidikee Aryas who introduced
Manusmriti and caste system to enslave the indigenous communities.

We indigenous people of Bengal and all over the world, converted into
Hindutva, celebrate the defeat and indiscriminate Annihilation of our
ancestors. We celebrate our displacement!

With just two months left for Durga Puja, the shopping for the
festival has already begun!

In a goodwill gesture that will provide the much-needed relief to
tourists, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) announced on Monday that it
will not call bandhs during the Durga Puja.
“We welcome tourists during the Pujas and there will be no bandh in
that period. If any emergency arises, we will make it public 20 days
before,” said GJM chief Bimal Gurung.


The first lot of Nano cars is expected to come out of the factory in
Singur, West Bengal, by September-October. On Tuesday, West Bengal's
Industry Minister Nirupam Sen said the first batch of Nano would roll
out as scheduled before the Durga Puja.


With Tata Motors having written a confidential letter to Trinamool
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on the Nano small car project in
Singur, its Managing Director Ravi Kant has given an update to West
Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen.



However, the Nano brand so far does not find a mention in the
available passenger car dealership application forms, which ask
applicants to give their five-year sales and service estimates for six
brands - Indica, Indigo, Indigo-Marina, Safari, Sumo and Spacio.
Just months ahead of the launch of its Rs 1 lakh Nano, the world's
cheapest car, automaker Tata
Motors has started the process of expanding the dealership network for
passenger cars. Tata's passenger car brands currently include Indica,
Indigo, Sumo and Safari and would be joined by Nano before the year-
end.

In a public announcement on Wednesday inviting applications from
prospective dealers, the company said this would maximise their
"opportunities, even as Tata Motors constantly expands its portfolio
of passenger vehicle products and services, including the recently
unveiled people's car, the Tata Nano".


It is the Black magic of Myth and Legends which hijack logic and sense
of History. Indigenous people in Bengal worshipped Kali and Shiva!
Durga puja had been always an elite affair associated with Brahminical
zamindari! After the first world war, the Zamindars were decaying.
Feudal lords had to feel the after affects of war and recession. So
called struggle for freedom to liberate the zamindars, Rajas and
Nawabs led by the Brahmins was launched to defend the ruling Class
interests. And Durga Puja suddenly came into vogue very soon. Public
Puja Festivals soon became the greatest Cultural festival first in
Bengal, and then countrywide.

Scheduled castes of Bengal were still engaged in Manasa Puja, Gajan,
Charak, Baruni, Gassi, Shivratri, Rakshakali Puja and Sheetala Puja,
the indigenous rituals involving the forces of nature an the totems!
They were never in the sphere of Durga Puja!

I have seen all the dimensions of folk in Tripura, Assam,
Manipur,Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar and UP. but our people have soon
forgot Jan, Ashtak gaan, Dole, Charak, Keertan, Zari Gaan, Rupgaan,
Bhassan, Ramjatra, Krishanjatra, Naam Jangya, gaan, Baab gaan,
Tennath, Sinni and every other ways of cultural behaviour. They
disowned the natural forces as Shiva, Kali, Manasa, Sheetala and so
on. Very soon they adopted all the caste hindu dieties of Ruling
Hegemony as Durga, Ganesh,Rama, Laxmi and Saraswati.They even left
Krishna Consciousness and surrendered to Brahminical supremacy. Now
they enjoy most their legacy of enslavement and defeat, their
displacement and annihilation glorified by Religion, Myth and Legends,
superstitions!

I witnessed the changes happening around me while I was a child. In
the Terai of Nainital. Where the ejected Namoshudra and Paundra
Kshtriya and Malo peasants and fisherman were thrown into the dense
uncultivated forest of Gim Corbet fame! it was a land of Plague,
cholera and Malaria. our people were not afraid of that. They were not
afraid of the Jungle or wild life either. We had the indigenous people
from Sundarvan area of Khulna and Satkheera. They worshipped the
forces of Nature. I remember the lost legacy of Banabibi most!

Sundarvan-spreading across the border into Bangladesh, the Sundarban
is the forest at the delta where the Ganges meets the sea, 2500square
km of forest has been declared a tiger sanctuary.Afternoon visit Tiger
Project Area for view of wild animals.

Manindra sardar was a Paundra Kshatriya. His mother called my father
God father. The Sardar family belonged to Sundarvana area of Khulna
and they worshipped Ban Biwi, the reigning goddess of Sundarvan. In
west Bengal, while I visited Sudhanyakhali, Pakhiralaya and Gosaba and
other Sundarvan areas like Hasnabad, I came across the devotees of
Bana Biwi. but our people, the partition victims rehabiliated in
refugee colonies nationwide could not bear the legacy.

After breakfast full day sight seeing of Kolkatta-isn’t an ancient
city like Delhi with its impressive relics of the past., it’s largely
a British creation which dates back only 300 years and was the capital
of British India , Job Charnock-a English merchant, kept the name of
Kolkatta, later who married with a Brahmin’s widow.Visit for local
sight seeing of Victoria Memorial- is a huge white-marble museum, a
strange combination of classical European architecture with Mughal
influences and the solid reminder of British Calcutta ,visit St.Paul’s
Cathedral – is one of the most important churches in India. After
visit Kalighat- 500 years old temple of goddess Kali, legend that when
Shiva’s wife Parvati’s corpse was cut up, one of her fingers fell
here, important pilgrimage site. Lunch at restaurant.

It is evident with Kalighta and Dakshineshwar temples that Durga was
not the Goddess of Indigenous people. But Ramkrishna Paramhans, swami
Vivekanand and Ramkrishna Mission made the indigenous goddess of
nature saving our people from epidemics the goddess of Mainstream
caste Hindus. Diwali is now associated with the Goddess.

When the Gods are worshipped, the animals also get a legitimate share
of devotion from the worshippers. Think of Lord Shiva. He always moves
with Nandi. The sacred bull is revered in every part of the country.
Lord Kartik flies on a peacock. By coincidence, the bird is as
charming as the heroic God. Ma Durga is found riding either on a lion
or a tiger. In the Sundarvan area of West Bengal, a God named
Dakshinrai is often worshipped who is believed to be the Lord of
tigers. The locals believe that Dakshinrai will drive away the
marauding big cats. In many parts of the country, snakes are treated
with respect. In fact, Naagpanchami is the occasion to worship the
serpents. It is believed that Mansa, the daughter of Lord Shiva, is
the Goddess of snakes. Lakshmiji is worshipped along with an owl. Ma
Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, is found with swans. Dharmaraj is
always accompanied by a dog. If you remember, in the last journey of
the Pandavas only the dog went to heaven with Yudhishthir. Yamraj has
a buffalo as his Vahana. Ma Sashthi is believed to be fond of cats.
Idols of Ma Kali are made with a jackal drinking blood dripping from a
severed human head. Omnipresent Narada moves anywhere riding on the
Garuda, the king of birds. Many people serve food to monkeys as
representatives of Bhagwan Bajrangbali. Similarly, an elephant is the
Vahana of Lord Viswakarma. The question is, was the Vahana concept
just an imagination of our ancient gurus? Or could it be that the
animals were associated consciously with the Lords to spread an
important message?

Animals are associated with indigenous aboriginal people. Most of the
wild life, specially the snakes and the birds are Totems. These totems
were associated with Hindu deities making them more accepatable and
using the popular myths and legends to entrap and enslave the
indigenous people in the religion of Hinduism cursed with caste system
and untouchability.

In the Terai of Nainital, I saw our people giving up Matua religion
and Baruni identifying the Scheduled caste legacy. With further
empowerment and awakening, they left Gajan and Charak and some of the
superstitions involving semi gods, ghosts and spirits which were
connected with harvesting. They left Gassi, the indigenous version of
Nabanna, the festival of Harvesting.

rather they adopted Durga puja and Sarswati Pujs as posing caste
Hindu. i could not distinguish the differences then as I never felt
the stings of Caste system in Uttarakhand! I never knew the social
fabrics of Bengal completely dominated by Brahmins. Our People adopted
durga Puja to identify themselves with the High castes of Bengal as
they were so proud of Rabindra, Vivekanand, Nazrul and Netaji. This
was a feel of mainstream life and status the dalit Bengali refugees
tasted out of Bengal.

I remember those days while my father tried his best to demand and
ensure reservation for Namoshudras and Paundrakshtriyas . our people
protested vehemently and declared that they were no more Untouchables.
They never wanted Reservation as they felt like higher castes and
worshipped Durga! Only after LPG introduced with intense Job crunch
and anti pathy growing against East Bengal refugees thanks to RSS and
Bengali Ruling Brahmins, our people awakened to demand reservation!

Our peopel forgot the History and are never ready to identify with
Dravid, Anarya, Asura and Banga!

Now the Market uses it!

The Telgraph, Kolakat reports:

Organised marketing of the annual worship of Durga has begun with a
Bengali-owned American company buying the rights to a Calcutta puja
that will have Mithun Chakraborty as its brand ambassador.

Every rupee spent on Badamtala Ashar Sangha Puja at Chetla this year
will come from the coffers of Media Morphosis, owned by New York-based
Adris Chakrabarty. The company will market the event to recover its
investment.

The company’s Indian subsidiary, Mumbai-based Manhattan
Communications, will start a publicity campaign to attract sponsors in
the run-up to the autumn festival. And MLA Fatakeshto Mithun will be
the ticket to more eyeballs. On Friday, the actor turned up for the
first promotional shoot in Mumbai.

“This is an effort to marry creativity with commerce on a corporate
platform. Puja in Calcutta showcases wonderful artistic innovations
and we are happy to play a supporting role,” Gautam Majumder, a senior
official of the company, told Metro.

“The club has been branding its Puja cheap and we want to scale it
up,” he added.

First up would be an SMS contest titled Experience Badamtala with
prizes galore to select a theme for this edition of the south Calcutta
club’s Puja.

Mridul Pathak, one of the patrons of the Puja, sold the idea of a tie-
up to Chakrabarty during a trip to New York earlier this year.

“We tried to impress upon the company that we brought to life some
unique themes and won accolades over the past few years without
spending crores. Last year, we won eight awards,” said Suvajit Sarkar,
the convener of the puja.

A team of company officials, led by Chakrabarty, visited Calcutta in
March and held a discussion with the club’s members on Dol Jatra. The
deal was signed soon after.



Please just wait Forty Five days for Durga puja Festival!

The Count Down for Mega retail bazaar has begun as soon as the sixth
Pay Commission based pay hike is implemented. We , those who are not
central government employees and other who have no purchasing capacity
as par as the entry into the Open Market demands, have to feel the
heat and dust! Ration at home is influenced immediately. Rice, flour,
vegetables, edible oils, cosmetics, clothes, fishes, meat.. every day
to day commodity is on steep hike. The Urban and suburban Bengalies
are not so worried as the find the most expected Hilsa so cheap at
the rate of just one hundred Rupees from the start!

On 15 th August Evening, me and wife Savita chose to walk around the
market which turned to be as dense as a deep core forest of Humanity
affluence! In our locality, we are privileged to have a string of
Shopping Mall including Ready Made Centre, Shri Niketan, More and
Reliance Fresh. Vishsal stands on BT Road. Spencer is to be launched
very soon. Khadim Khajana and another shopping mall of SriNiketan are
under construction!Our Posto Baba Journalist friends get Shopping Mall
coupons very often and visit around the Metro declaring that shopping
was never as good as it is now just like a new heaven!

Ready made centre saw no less than sixteen persons dead suffering from
Gas Leak caused by Fire. It is ready to open and the Sale with stock
clearance has to draw unprecedented crowd of super consumers. The
station Road is so crowdy that you simply can not walk.

The pay scale details are awaited. New recruitment is rarest of
happenings in the age of ERS VRS and retrenchment thanks to hire and
fire policy. But an old man working in Kolkata GPO declared that day ,
`I will marry once again’.

Here you are! The Honeymoon has just begun!
You may not bargain at any shop. Lest you would be shown the exit.The
logic is Pay Hike! since the government has declared it , we the
people have to pay whatever demanded in exchange!

It is the big day for the nuclear deal as the Nuclear Suppliers' Group
(NSG) begins a two-day meeting in Vienna. Without the NSG's approval,
India cannot import nuclear fuel and technology from the world.

India is not only Sensex India! Not only Shining India! It is now
Hindu super Power! Shopping Malls and Retail Chains make you global
where you may chose any thing! Any international Brand. Credit Boom is
olready on vogue. You have not to earn for consumption. just keep
intact the VISA or Credit Card. Those who have to be benefited by
recent or happening pay hike, or personal loan may jump forward and
push the Commodity Index upwards!

Regional media and TV channels fed by FDI have turned to be the best
agents of the market, we know!

Our new ICONs happen to Sanjay Nirupam, Jade Goody, Rahul Mahajan,
Monika Bedi and so on. Ramdeb Baba plays a rare role of Travel aagent
with his hyped much Yoga!

Just remember how Ramayana and Mahabharata were used to open the Rural
market with promoting TV sets as the most wanted Home appliance!

Just imagine how Internet with MP3 technology plays the gimmick in
young minds! Imagine that our children are going to have their on
Micro PCS for only Rs Four Hundred!

Imagine that we would be using laptops without hard disk and Pen
drives with maximum Memory more than 32 GB would play the IT game!
Imagine that Computer Revolution takes over the Mobile and TV!

The Rural sector is already open!

Open are all the natural resources!

Rural production system survives no more!

Rural life is not self sufficient as it has been few decades ago!
Green revolution changed the village Life and Agriculture itself.
Chemicals and fertilizers played a vital road. now a complete package
with chemical hub and Nuclear plant, automation and GM seeds take
over. SEZ has changed the landscape and human scape. Reatil chain is
going to change the life style.




Durga Puja in Bengal is no more a cultural festival. It is all year
round the most super Duper Hit Reality show of Marketing Dewanagee.
so, the count Down has begun from the 50th day!Ad campaigns are on!
reality shows are on full swing.

our indigenous communities have no escape route as Past is never past
for them. The aboriginal communities consisting of SC, ST, OBC and
minorities live in superstitions. They live in past. But they aspire
to cope with the Present which is physically Future for them. They are
annihilated. They are uprooted. Displaced. Deprived. Persecuted. They
are ousted from life and livelihood. But they tend to compete with
those who have purchasing capacity infinite! And it is suicidal!

We are seized by Mythology as well as Modern times!

Myths do the maximum damage! Just browse any TV channel. The fastest.
the super duper. The color. The cable! The News channel. The Musical.
The astronomical and the Religious. They emphasise most on the Myths
and legends! So a devotee of Sai Baba is declared the khatron Ke
Khiladi. All the nonsense is created on name of Aliens and flying
causers! Ravan, Rama, Sita, Mandodari, Hanuman and a string of
mythological character are chased by the market forces.Superstitions
mad real! Crimes become thriller and scandals and sting become the
infinite source of entertainment.

All these Nonsense and all the superstitions, laughter shows and
reality shows are targeted to entrap the potential consumers hidden
amongst us! Purchasing Capacity haunts us as any legend or Myth would!
Forget Culture! Forget language! Forget ethics!Forget behaviour!
forget values! Forget family and relations. Forget Country and
society. You are just an Unit of consumer alienated. here you stand.Do
right or wrong whatsoever! Get the Purchasing power. If it is a credit
card . So it be. Just enter the market and forget anything else!

Families are broken. Love marriages end so soon. But the Honeymoon
continues like UPA Left! No feeling, no love! it is copulation only!
No aesthetics, it is Sex only!

You may see so many Hip Lines around you while only before a few
decades so many tonnes of News print were wasted to debate on the
breast line! The Breast is all Open! Sexy is the most hyped tag!
Salawar Kammeez exit and enters Capri! Brands rule our psyche struck
by Myths and Legends for ages!

The market uses most the Myths, the legends, the Icons and Religion,
our deeper most involvement!They are the hunters out in the dark of
our superstitions, belief and religion! They strike most our roots to
uproot us!

I am reading once again the so called classic of Tara Shankar Bando
Padhyaya, Nagini Kanyar kahini, all about the snake charmers, the VISH
VEDEs! All the myths and legends of Manasa Mangaland Padmpuran are
used and interwoven in real life encounters! It is so charming and
involving!

I am reading and I am dreaming!

Savita called me while I was in deep sleep and was dealing with the
Myth of Doom`s day. The Himalayas melted. The Glaciers were coming
down and I was just swimming on the waves and running downwards to the
Ocean! My body converted into a soul. A ray of light entered into the
Black Hole and it was an infinite Journey. My body was revolving like
a reptile and I felt so close to a rare experience of meditation! It
was like a feel the
KUNDALINI!

Kundalini (ku??alini ?????????) Sanskrit, literally "coiled". In
Indian yoga, a "corporeal energy"[1] - an unconscious, instinctive or
libidinal force or Shakti, envisioned either as a goddess or else as a
sleeping serpent coiled at the base of the spine,[2][3][4] hence a
number of English renderings of the term such as 'serpent power'.
Kundalini is considered a part of the subtle body along with chakras
(energy centres) and nadis (channels). The overall conception has many
points in common with Chinese acupuncture.

Kundalini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yoga and Tantra propose that this energy may be "awoken" by such means
as austerities, breath and other physical exercises, visualization and
chanting. It may then rise up a subtle channel at the spine (called
Sushumna) to the head, bringing psychological illumination. Each
chakra is said to contain special characteristics.[5] Yogis tend to
attempt this alone, Tantrics in couples, both usually under the
instruction of a guru.

When Kundalini Shakti is conceived as a goddess then, when it rises to
the head it unites itself with the Supreme Being (Lord Shiva). The
aspirant gets engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss.[6][7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini

I was awake and felt very angry as savita disturbed in meditation! I
decided to have a little KHAINI! Khaini is a product indigenous to
India. It is essentially flavored "chewing tobacco". You, born out of
Chappel drop when one chappel came to India 30 years back, khainikhor
slum dweller of Burrabazar spit everywhere on Calcutta roads!

Savita was irritated!she tried her best to stop me! I was adamant.It
is the cheapest Indigenous nasha. Savita is frightened of cancer as we
have seen my chhoto Kakima and my father to succumb suffering from
cancer. neither of them ever used Khaini!

savita was outraged and Called me CHANDAL!
I declared, ` So I am’!
Then I contested, `I never disturb you in your superstitions, religion
and Puja path! I protest the Brahmins and you have developed a Brahmin
at home’!
The debate continues!

The gist is that we are never liberated from superstitions, myths and
legends! These are the soft most roots in our heart and mind. the
market, the global world target it most fiercely!

In Hinduism, the Asura (Sanskrit: असुर) are a group of power-seeking
deities, sometimes referred to as demons or sinful. They were opposed
to the devas. Both groups are children of Kashyapa. The views of
Asuras in Hinduism vary due to the many deities who were Asuras then
later became known as Devas. The name is cognate to Ahura—indeed, the
Oxford English Dictionary recognises the use of the term in reference
to Zoroastrianism, where "Ahura" would perhaps be more appropriate—and
Æsir, which implies a common Proto-Indo-European origin for the Asura
and the Æsir.

The negative character of the asura in Hinduism seems to have evolved
over time. In general, the earliest texts have the asuras presiding
over moral and social phenomena (e.g. Varuna, the guardian of Ṛtá, or
Bhaga, the patron of marriages) and the devas presiding over natural
phenomena (e.g. Ushas, whose name means "dawn", or Indra, a weather
god).

In later writings, such as the Puranas and Itihasas, we find that the
"devas" are the godly persons and the "asuras" the demonic. According
to the Bhagavad Gita (16.6), all beings in the world partake either of
the divine qualities (daivi sampad) or the demonic qualities (asuri
sampad). The sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita describes the
divine qualities briefly and the demonic qualities at length. In
summary the Gita (16.4) says that the asuric qualities are pride,
arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance.

The Padma Purana says that the devotees of Vishnu are endowed with the
divine qualities (viṣṇu-bhaktaḥ smṛto daiva) whereas the asuras are
just the opposite (āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ).


Rural markets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Rural Markets are defined as those segments of overall market of any
economy, which are distinct from the other types of markets like stock
market, commodity markets or Labor economics. Rural Markets constitute
an important segment of overall economy, for example, in the USA, out
of about 3000 counties, around 2000 counties are rural, that is, non-
urbanized, with population of 55 million. Typically, a rural market
will represent a community in a rural area with a population of 2500
to 30000[1].

Contents
[hide]
1 Significance
2 Strategies
3 Present position
4 References




[edit] Significance
In recent years, rural markets have acquired significance in countries
like China and India, as the overall growth of the economy has
resulted into substantial increase in the purchasing power of the
rural communities. On account of the green revolution in India, the
rural areas are consuming a large quantity of industrial and urban
manufactured products. In this context, a special marketing strategy,
namely, rural marketing has taken shape. Sometimes, rural marketing is
confused with agricultural marketing – the later denotes marketing of
produce of the rural areas to the urban consumers or industrial
consumers, whereas rural marketing involves delivering manufactured or
processed inputs or services to rural producers or consumers. Also,
when we consider the scenario of India and China, there is a picture
that comes out,huge market for the developed products as well as the
labor support. This has led to the change in the mindset of the
marketers to move to these parts of the world.

Also rural market is getting an importance because of the saturation
of the urban market. As due to the competition in the urban market,
the market is more or so saturated as most of the capacity of the
purchasers have been targeted by the marketers.So the marketers are
looking for extending their product categories to an unexplored market
i.e. the rural market. This has also led to the CSR activities being
done by the corporate to help the poor people attain some wealth to
spend on their product categories. Here we can think of HLL (now, HUL)
initiatives in the rural India. One of such project is the Project
Shakti, which is not only helping their company attain some revenue
but also helping the poor women of the village to attain some money
which is surely going to increase their purchasing power. Also this
will increase their brand loyalty as well as recognition in that area.
Similarly we can think of the ITC E-Chaupal, which is helping the poor
farmers get all the information about the weather as well as the
market price of the food grains they are producing.In other view these
activities are also helping the companies increase their brand value.
So as it is given above the significance of the rural market has
increased due to the saturation of the urban market as well as in such
conditions the company which will lead the way will be benefited as
shown by the success of HUL and ITC initiatives.


[edit] Strategies
Dynamics of rural markets differ from other market types, and
similarly rural marketing strategies are also significantly different
from the marketing strategies aimed at an urban or industrial
consumer. This, along with several other related issues, have been
subject matter of intense discussions and debate in countries like
India and China and focus of even international symposia organized in
these countries[2].

Rural markets and rural marketing involve a number of strategies,
which include:

Client and location specific promotion
Joint or cooperative promotion..
Bundling of inputs
Management of demand
Developmental marketing
Unique selling proposition (USP)
Extension services
Business ethics
Partnership for sustainability
Client and Location specific promotion involves a strategy designed to
be suitable to the location and the client.

Joint or co-operative promotion strategy involves participation
between the marketing agencies and the client.

'Bundling of inputs' denote a marketing strategy, in which several
related items are sold to the target client, including arrangements of
credit, after-sale service, and so on.

Management of demand involve continuous market research of buyer’s
needs and problems at various levels so that continuous improvements
and innovations can be undertaken for a sustainable market
performance.

Developmental marketing refer to taking up marketing programmes
keeping the development objective in mind and using various managerial
and other inputs of marketing to achieve these objectives.

Media, both traditional as well as the modern media, is used as a
marketing strategy.

Unique Selling Propositions (USP) involve presenting a theme with the
product to attract the client to buy that particular product. For
examples, some of famous Indian Farm equipment manufactures have
coined catchy themes, which they display along with the products, to
attract the target client, that is the farmers. English version of
some of such themes would read like:

The heartbeats of rural India
With new technique for a life time of company
For the sake of progress and prosperity
Extension Services denote, in short, a system of attending to the
missing links and providing the required know-how.

Ethics in Business. form, as usual, an important plank for rural
markets and rural marketing.

Partnership for sustainability involve laying and building a
foundation for continuous and long lasting relationship.

'''Building sustainable market linkages for rural products: Industry’s
role, scope, opportunities and challenges'''

Introduction: Rural products of India are unique, innovative and have
good utility and values. Large number of these rural products (like
handicraft items, food products, embroidery, clothes & other products)
sustains a significant segment of the population in the rural areas.
Several attributes of rural products can be identified, for which, it
has a demand in the market. Out of the lots, ‘ethnic origin’ and
‘indigenous design & appearance’ are two traits of rural products,
attracting a premium in the market. But, contrary to this, the non-
uniformity of rural products (from one another) and lack of its
quality control measures has been creating a negative demand. Besides,
the small sized and dispersed production units of these rural products
hinder realization of the economies of scale in marketing and result
in high transaction costs per unit of output. Niche-based products
have no local market. Products in local use are also not marketed
horizontally; they often first travel down to market through a long
chain of intermediaries and then up to more difficult locations in the
rural areas. In the process, the people in rural areas suffer from
both low prices as producers and high prices as consumers. In this
conflict, rural products loss its equilibrium and the supply side
becomes exponentially high. Because of this hazard, rural
entrepreneurs face acute economic loss and rural markets become
stagnant. Therefore, there is an emergent need for Building
sustainable market linkages for rural products, so that, it can be
connected to larger markets and farmers can get a sustainable
livelihood.

Market linkages for rural products: There are, broadly speaking, three
ways in which they can be connected to the markets. They can do it on
their own — through cooperatives. Or, the state can do it for them —
through its procurement engines. Stages one and two, in a manner of
speaking. Today, developmental thinking on market linkages has reached
stage three — linkages through companies or industries.

Across India, previous attempts to create such linkages have
floundered. Take Assam and other eastern states itself. Around the
Eighties, the state government here decided that cooperatives were a
great way to consolidate its political base. Loans went to the
undeserving. Debts were written off. The institutions slowly got
corrupted. As for the linkages provided by the state, these offer
uncertain sustainability. Given this context, one can conclude that
profit-oriented industry linkages are a more sustainable, more
scalable alternative. In this scenario, companies can use the social
infrastructure (the self help group et al) as an alternative
procurement and distribution chain and vise versa.

Industry’s role in building market linkages: To make an effective
market linkage, industries have to play as an engine of market, which
can generate a brand image of the rural products. This initiative of
industries will also strengthen the backward and forward linkages of
the rural market, besides, accelerating the innovations of the rural
products. Definitely, this strategy will also give a remarkable
dividend to the industries & profit making companies. In micro level,
it is observed that to create a sustainable market linkage for rural
products, industries can develop an ecosystem of Self Help Groups
(SHGs) by involving the local communities through village level
empowerment. It is nothing less than the next phase in the
democratization of commerce. Under this paradigm, industries can
create a network with viable marketing channels covering all the
linkages from villages to the global level. This architecture provides
the right value of procurement through the village procurement centres
and rural entrepreneurs can sell their products faster with better
price realization. This model is also capable of generating a consumer
business and an output business in a win-win scenario, where rural
producers can get a wide marketing horizon and the industries shall
get a new, lower cost ‘salesforce’. Another role of industries in
building market linkages for agro-based rural products can be the
‘dynamic contract farming’. If a conventional industry can kick off a
contract farming business, and export niche horticulture crops like
cucumbers, the small and marginal farmers who could grow these small
cucumbers would make Rs 30,000 in profits in a year. KRBL, one of
India’s largest basmati exporters, has contract farming agreements
with 24,000 farmers; Global Green buys from about 12,000 farmers.
Moreover, in the current era of information technology, industry and
private companies can also creatively use ICT for building sustainable
marketing linkages. This approach creatively leverages information
technology (IT) to set up a meta-market in favour of small and poor
producers/rural entrepreneurs, who would otherwise continue to operate
and transact in 'unevolved' markets where the rent-seeking vested
interests exploit their disadvantaged position. ITC e Choupal is the
best example in this context. Through creative use of Information
Technology, ITC eChoupal has been creating sustainable stakeholder
value by reorganizing the agri-commodity supply chains simultaneously
improving the competitiveness of small farmer agriculture and
enhancing rural prosperity. eChoupal also sidesteps the value-sapping
problems caused by fragmentation, dispersion, heterogeneity and weak
infrastructure. ITC takes on the role of a Network Orchestrator in
this meta-market by stitching together an end-to-end solution. It
eliminated the traditional 'mandi' system which involved lot of
middlemen as a result of which farmers failed to get the right value
for their produce. The solution simultaneously addresses the viability
concerns of the participating companies by virtually aggregating the
demand from thousands of small farmers, and the value-for-money
concerns of the farmers by creating competition among the companies in
each leg of the value chain.

Scope & opportunities: The basic scope of this novel initiative will
be the mutual benefits of the rural entrepreneurs and industries. The
entrepreneurs – primary beneficiaries, SHGs – bridge with the
community, participating companies/industries and rural consumers have
befitted through a robust commercial relationship. These models of
marketing linkages demonstrate a large corporation which can play a
major role in reorganizing markets and increasing the efficiency of a
rural product generation system. While doing so it will benefit
farmers and rural communities as well as shareholders. Moreover, the
key role of information technology—provided and maintained by the
industry/company for building linkages, and used by local farmers—
brings about transparency, increased access to information, and rural
transformation. Besides, this strategy of market linkage, addresses
the challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs due to institution voids,
numerous intermediaries and infrastructure bottlenecks. Moreover, the
prime scope of this model is the creation of opportunities for the
rural entrepreneurs for product differentiation and innovation by
offering them choices. Because of this sustainable market linkages,
rural producers can participate in the benefits of globalization and
will also develop their capacity to maintain global quality standard.
Nonetheless, it creates new stakeholders for the industry sector. And
subsequently, they become part of the firms’ core businesses. The
involvement of the private /industry sector at the rural product and
market development can also provide opportunities for the development
of new services and values to the customers, which will find
application in the developed markets. It will be worth mentioning that
building a sustainable market linkage through industry’s intervention
will also empower the rural mass (producers, farmers & entrepreneurs)
to cope with socio-economic problems in the rural society and will
ensure economic self –reliance.

Challenges: There are significant challenges to the entire process the
most important being the capacity building of the rural entrepreneurs.
For decades, the entrepreneurs associated with very conventional/
traditional knowledge of business, humiliation with government, so
they are likely to look at these initiatives with skepticism. Only
consistent performance can convince the skeptics. Therefore, the
industries must play a catalytic role to cope with this challenge and
should also train the entrepreneurs to develop their managerial and IT
skills. On the other hand, the products of the existing and popular
brand also stand as threat to the rural products. These global giants
(brand) may try to suppress the rural products in the markets with its
communication hype. Therefore, developing alternative and additional
market linkages for these products is an absolute necessity. Moreover,
the low volumes of rural products, high operating cots, high
attrition, and absence of local know how and relationships may also
create problem in the process. Henceforth, it is essential to make a
way out to cope with these odds.

Conclusion: These issues gain added complexity under globalization,
where markets are characterized by extreme competition and volatility.
While rural products has been perceived traditionally as catering to
the local market, or at best, to a wider national market through
limited formal channels, the reality of globalization since the 1990s
introduced a new dimension to the market for such products. The issue
of rural product generation through industrialization, therefore,
needs to be viewed from a new angle and on far more scientific lines.
The core of a scientific approach is to understand the market
opportunities for rural products along with the country's development
priorities and to chalk out a strategy where rural industries have an
important role to play. While rural products are forced to
increasingly become part of global supply chains, these products need
to adapt themselves, not only according to the changing tastes of the
national market, but also according to changes in tastes in the
international market. Therefore, a process is essential to explore the
market linkages and capacity building for SHGs through a bottom up
approach and continuous dialogue with stakeholders of rural
enterprise. This process should ensure the participation of rural
people as consumers and producers in the globalization mechanism, with
better livelihoods and global access to markets. The real challenge of
building a sustainable market linkage starts here.


Bengal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Bengal (Bengali: বঙ্গ Bôngo, বাংলা Bangla, বঙ্গদেশ Bôngodesh or
বাংলাদেশ Bangladesh), is a historical and geographical region in the
northeast of South Asia. Today it is mainly divided between the
independent nation of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal), and the
state of West Bengal in India, although some regions of the previous
kingdoms of Bengal (during local monarchical regimes and British rule)
are now part of the neighboring Indian states of Bihar, Tripura and
Orissa. The majority of Bengal is inhabited by Bengali people (বাঙালি
Bangali) who speak Bengali (বাংলা Bangla).[citation needed]

The region of Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on
earth, with a population density exceeding 900/km². Most of the Bengal
region lies in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges
Delta, the world's largest delta. In the southern part of the delta
lies the Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and home of
the Bengal tiger. Though the population of the region is mostly rural
and agrararian, two megacities, Kolkata (previously Calcutta) and
Dhaka, are located in Bengal. The Bengal region is notable for its
contribution to the socio-cultural uplift of Indian society in the
form of the Bengal Renaissance, and revolutionary activities during
the Indian independence movement.

Etymology and ethnology

The exact origin of the word Bangla or Bengal is unknown, though it is
believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that
settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.[6]

Other accounts speculate that the name is derived from Vanga(বঙ্গ
bôngo), which came from the Austric word "Bonga" meaning the Sun-god.
The word Vanga and other words speculated to refer to Bengal (such as
Anga) can be found in ancient Indian texts including the Vedas, Jaina
texts, the Mahabharata and Puranas. The earliest reference to
"Vangala" (বঙ্গাল bôngal) has been traced in the Nesari plates (805
AD) of Rashtrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king
of Vangala.[7]

Some accounts claim that the word may derive from bhang, a preparation
of cannabis which is used in some religious ceremonies in Bengal.[1]
[2]

The Proto-Australoids were one of the earliest inhabitants of Bengal.
[8] Dravidians migrated to Bengal from the south, while Tibeto-Burman
peoples migrated from the Himalayas,[8] followed by the Indo-Aryans
from north-western India. The modern Bengali people are a blend of
these people. Pathans, Iranians, Arabs and Turks also migrated to the
region in the late Middle Ages while spreading Islam.




Durga Puja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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.

Contents
[hide]
1 Names
2 Durga puja
2.1 Kolkata
2.2 Siliguri
3 Origin of the autumnal ceremony 'Sharadiya'
4 History
5 Evolution of the Community or Sarbajanin puja
6 Creation of the Idols
7 Durga puja in other parts of India
7.1 Maharashtra and Goa
7.2 Punjab
7.3 Orissa
7.4 Karnataka
7.5 Gujarat
7.6 Kerala
7.7 Kashmir
8 Durga Puja outside India
8.1 Bangladesh
8.2 Nepal
8.3 United States, Europe and Australia
9 Theme-based Pujas and Pandals
10 Environmental impact
11 Popular culture specific to the puja
12 See also
13 References
14 External links




[edit] Names
In Bengal, Durga Puja is also called Akalbodhan (Bengali: অকালবোধন,
'untimely awakening of Durga'), Sharadiya Puja (Bengali: শারদীয়া
পূজা, ‘autumnal worship’), Sharodotsab (Bengali: শারদোৎসব ‘festival of
autumn’), Baro Puja (Bengali: বড় পূজা, ‘grand puja’), Maayer Pujo
(Bengali: মায়ের পুজো, ‘worship of the Mother) or only referred as
Puja or Pujo. In East Bengal (now Bangladesh), Durga Puja was used to
celebrated as Bhagabati Puja. It is also called Durga Puja in Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. [2]

Durga Puja is called Navratri Puja in Gujarat, Punjab and
Maharashtra[3], Kullu Dussehra in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh[4],
Mysore Dussehra in Mysore, Karnataka[5] and Bommai Kolu in Tamil Nadu,
Kerala and Andra Pradesh[6].


[edit] Durga puja
The worship of Durga in the autumn (শরৎ Shôrot) is the year's largest
Hindu festival of Bengal. Durga Puja is also celebrated in Nepal and
Bhutan according to local traditions and variations. Puja means
"worship," and Durga's Puja is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day
of the waxing moon in the month of Ashwin (আশ্বিন Ashshin), which is
the sixth month in the Bengali calendar. Occasionally however, due to
shifts in the lunar cycle relative to the solar months, it may also be
held in the following month, Kartika (কার্তিক Kartik). In the
Gregorian calendar, these dates correspond to the months of September
and October.

In the Krittibas Ramayana, Rama invokes the goddess Durga in his
battle against Ravana. Although she was traditionally worshipped in
the spring, due to contingencies of battle, Rama had to invoke her in
the autumn akaal bodhan. Today it is this Rama's date for the puja
that has gained ascendancy, although the spring puja, known as Basanti
Puja [One of the oldest 'sabeki' Basanti Puja held every year at
spring in Barddhaman Pal Bari more details for more details]], is also
present in the Hindu almanac. Since the season of the puja is শরৎ
Shôrot autumn, it is also known as শরদিয়া Shôrodia.

The pujas are held over a ten-day period, which is traditionally
viewed as the coming of the married daughter, Durga, to her father,
Himalaya's home. It is the most important festival in Bengal, and
Bengalis celebrate with new clothes and other gifts, which are worn on
the evenings when the family goes out to see the 'pandals' (temporary
structures set up to venerate the goddess). Although it is a Hindu
festival, religion takes a backseat on these five days: Durga Puja in
Bengal is a carnival, where people from all backgrounds, regardless of
their religious beliefs, participate and enjoy themselves to the hilt.


[edit] Kolkata
In Kolkata alone more than two-thousand pandals are set up, all
clamouring for the admiration and praise of the populace. The city is
adorned with lights. People from all over the country visit the city
at this time, and every night is one mad carnival where thousands of
people go 'pandal-hopping' with their friends and family. Traffic
becomes a nightmare, and indeed, most people abandon their vehicles to
travel by foot after a point. A special task force is deployed to
control law and order.


[edit] Siliguri


Durga Puja 2007 of Saktigarh Uttjal Sahgha, Siliguri.
Hundreds of puja pendal are set up every year in the siliguri mahakuma
area. Many attractive colourful pandal, glorious "Protima", and
colorful lighting create joy for visitors. During the puja period,
visitors come here from all over the world. The city is adorned with
lights. Every day visitors come out on the roads with their family and
friends. They enjoy the festival through the night.


[edit] Origin of the autumnal ceremony 'Sharadiya'
The actual worship of the Goddess Durga as stipulated by the Hindu
scriptures falls in the month of Chaitra, which roughly overlaps with
March or April. This ceremony is however not observed by many and is
restricted to a handful in the state of West Bengal.

The more popular form, which is also known as Sharadiya (Autumnal)
Durga Puja, is celebrated later in the year with the dates falling
either in September or October. Since the Goddess is invoked at the
wrong time, it is called "Akaal Bodhon" in Bengali.

The first such Puja was organised by Raja Nabakrishna Deb of the
Shobhabazar Rajbari of Calcutta in honour of Lord Clive in the year
1757. The puja was organised because Clive wished to pay thanks for
his victory in the Battle of Plassey. He was unable to do so in a
Church because the only church in Calcutta at that time was destroyed
by Siraj-ud-Daulah. Indeed many wealthy mercantile and Zamindar
families in Bengal made British Officers of the East India Company
guests of honour in the Pujas. The hosts vied with one another in
arranging the most sumptuous fares, decorations and entertainment for
their guests. This was deemed necessary since the Company was in
charge of a large part of India including Bengal after the Battles of
Plassey and Buxar.


[edit] History


Godess Durga, in one of the Pandals of Calcutta, now Kolkata.
A considerable literature exists around Durga in the Bengali language
and its early forms, including avnirnaya (11th century),
Durgabhaktitarangini by Vidyapati (14th century), etc. Durga Puja was
popular in Bengal in the medieval period, and records exist of it
being held in the courts of Rajshahi (16th century) and Nadia district
(18th century). It was during the 18th century, however, that the
worship of Durga became popular among the landed elite of Bengal,
Zamindars. Prominent Pujas were conducted by the landed zamindars and
jagirdars, enriched by British rule, including Raja Nabakrishna Deb,
of Shobhabajar, who initiated an elaborate Puja at his residence. Many
of these old pujas exist to this day. Today, the culture of Durga Puja
has shifted from the princely houses to Sarbojanin (literally,
"involving all") forms. The first such puja was held Guptipara - it
was called barowari (baro meaning twelve and yar meaning friends)

Durga puja mood starts off with the Mahishasuramardini' – a radio
programme that has been popular with the community since the 1950s.
While earlier it used to be conducted live, later a recorded version
began to be broadcast. Bengalis traditionally wake up at 4 in the
morning on Mahalaya day to listen to the enchanting voice of the late
Birendra Krishna Bhadra and the late Pankaj Kumar Mullick on All India
Radio. as they recite hymns from the scriptures from the Devi
Mahatmyam or Chandi.

During the week of Durga Puja, in the entire state of West Bengal as
well as in large enclaves of Bengalis everywhere, life comes to a
complete standstill. In playgrounds, traffic circles, ponds --
wherever space may be available -- elaborate structures called pandals
'are set up, many with nearly a year's worth of planning behind them.
The word pandal means a temporary structure, made of bamboo and cloth,
which is used as a temporary temple for the purpose of the puja. While
some of the pandals are simple structures, others are often elaborate
works of art with themes that rely heavily on history, current affairs
and sometimes pure imagination.

Somewhere inside these complex edifices is a stage on which Durga
reigns, standing on her lion mount, wielding ten weapons in her ten
hands. This is the religious center of the festivities, and the crowds
gather to offer flower worship or pushpanjali on the mornings, of the
sixth to ninth days of the waxing moon fortnight known as Devi Pakshya
(lit. Devi = goddess; Pakshya = period; Devi Pakshya meaning the
period of the goddess). Ritual drummers – dhakis, carrying large
leather-strung dhak –– show off their skills during ritual dance
worships called aarati. On the tenth day, Durga the mother returns to
her husband, Shiva, ritualised through her immersion into the waters
–– Bishorjon also known as Bhaashan and Niranjan

Today's Puja, however, goes far beyond religion. In fact, visiting the
pandals recent years, one can only say that Durgapuja is the largest
outdoor art festival on earth. In the 1990s, a preponderance of
architectural models came up on the pandal exteriors, but today the
art motif extends to elaborate interiors, executed by trained artists,
with consistent stylistic elements, carefully executed and bearing the
name of the artist.



Image of Durga in an early 19th Century lithogragh.
The sculpture of the idol itself has evolved. The worship always
depicts Durga with her four children, and occasionally two attendant
deities and some banana-tree figures. In the olden days, all five
idols would be depicted in a single frame, traditionally called pata.
Since the 1980s however, the trend is to depict each idol separately.

At the end of six days, the idol is taken for immersion in a
procession amid loud chants of 'Bolo Durga mai-ki jai' (glory be to
Mother Durga') and 'aashchhe bochhor abar hobe' ('it will happen again
next year') and drumbeats to the river or other water body. It is cast
in the waters symbolic of the departure of the deity to her home with
her husband in the Himalayas. After this, in a tradition called Vijaya
Dashami, families visit each other and sweetmeats are offered to
visitors (Dashami is literally "tenth day" and Vijay is "victory").

Durga Puja is also a festivity of Good (Ma Durga) winning over the
evil (Maheshasoora the demon). It is a worship of power of Good which
always wins over the bad.


[edit] Evolution of the Community or Sarbajanin puja
Initially the Puja was organised by affluent families since they had
the money to organize the festival. During the late 19th and early
20th century, a burgeoning middle class, primarily in Calcutta, wished
to observe the Puja. They created the community or Sarbojanin Pujas.

These Pujas are organized by a committee which represents a locality
or neighbourhood. They collect funds called "chaanda" through door-to-
door subscriptions, lotteries, concerts etc. These funds are pooled
and used for the expenses of pandal construction, idol construction,
ceremonies etc. The balance of the fund is generally donated to a
charitable cause, as decided by the committee. Corporate sponsorships
of the Pujas have gained momentum since the late 1990s. Major Pujas in
Calcutta and in major metro areas such as Delhi and Chennai now derive
almost all of their funds from corporate sponsorships. Community fund
drives have become a formality.

Despite the resources used to organise a Puja, entry of visitors into
the Pandal is generally free. A few Puja conducted in Gurgaon by
wealthy Bengalis charge a fee. Pujas in Calcutta and elsewhere
experiment with innovative concepts every year. Communities have
created prizes for Best Pandal, Best Puja, and other categories.when
you do puja you get blessed.


[edit] Creation of the Idols
The entire process of creation of the idols from the collection of
clay to the ornamentation is a holy process, supervised by rites and
other rituals. On the Hindu date of Akshaya Tritiya when the Ratha
Yatra is held, clay for the idols is collected from the banks of a
river, preferably the Ganges. After the required rites, the clay is
transported from which the idols are fashioned. An important event is
'Chakkhu Daan', literally donation of the eyes. Starting with Devi
Durga, the eyes of the idols are painted on Mahalaya or the first day
of the Pujas. Before painting on the eyes, the artisans fast for a day
and eat only vegetarian food.

Many Pujas in and around Calcutta buy their idols from Kumartuli (also
Kumortuli), an artisans' town in north Calcutta.


[edit] Durga puja in other parts of India

[edit] Maharashtra and Goa
In Maharashtra, Durga Puja is an enjoyable occasion. Puja is performed
each day and devotees do not remove the flower garland that is put
each day on the idol or image of the deity. After nine days, all nine
garlands are removed together. Young girls who have not attained
maturity are invited to eat, play games, dance and sing. An elephant
is drawn with rangoli, and the girls play guessing games. Then they
are fed a meal of their choice.

In Goa great festivities take place in the temples of shree
Shantadurga , shree Mhalasa Narayani and shree Vijayadurga.


[edit] Punjab
People of Punjab strictly observe Navratri. Some Punjabis have only
milk for seven days before breaking the fast on ashtami or navami.
They worship Durga Ma and do the aarti at home. Some of them have
fruit or a complete meal only once a day. Intoxicating drinks or meat,
and other forms of entertainment are completely avoided. At the end of
the fast, devotees feed beggars or worship little girls who spell the
Shakti of the Mother Goddess.


[edit] Orissa
Orissa was part of the larger Bengal Presidency before it attained
statehood in 1936. Many Bengali families had settled in Orissa,
especially Cuttack, the erstwhile capital city. They were engaged in
business or worked for the Government.

The first recorded Durga Puja in the state is said to have been in the
year 1832 in the Kazibajaar area of Cuttack. The festival found favour
among the Oriyas who assisted Bengali families in the organization of
the Pujas. Due to differences which cropped up in later years, the
Oriya people chose to organise and celebrate the Puja independently.

A pandal in Orissa is called "Merrha". For many years, the most
expensive installation was the ChaandiMerrha (Chaandi means Silver) of
Choudhuri Bajaar area of Cuttack. The ornamentation was done entirely
in silver. A substantial increase in funding has led to the gold
plating of the ornamentation. Now it is known as "SunaMerrha" (Suna
means Gold). A few other Pujas in Cuttack now have silver ornaments,
too.

The Durga Puja festivities are also prominient in Maa Cuttack Chandi
temple. Maa Cuttack Chandi is the presiding deity of Cuttack. The
goddess popularly called as Maa Katak Chandi, sits and rules on the
heart of the ancient city. She is worshiped as Bhubaneswari. Maa
Chandi is worshipped in various incarnations of Durga during the puja.
In Cuttack, people strongly believe Maa Katak Chandi as 'The Living
Goddess'.

The largest Pujas are held in Bhubaneswar. Shaheed Nagar, Nayapalli
and Rasulgarh spend the most on the idols, decorations, lighting, and
other elements.

One reason for the wide acceptance of Durga Puja is the importance of
Maa Tarini, who is considered one of the embodiments of Shakti in
Oriya culture. In addition, the state is close to Bengal and the
peoples share a common socio-cultural history spanning millennia.
Orissa is home to many important shrines dedicated to the Goddess;
great festivities are organised there on Durga and Kali Puja.

It is thus one of the prime festivals of Orissa as well. People in
Orissa celebrate it on a large scale. The Goddess Durga is among the
sacred goddesses of Orissa. The celebrations are quite similar to the
neighbouring state of West Bengal.


[edit] Karnataka
Durga Puja is celebrated in a grand way in this state. In Mysore,
Dussehra is easily the most popular festival. Elephants are decked up
with robes and jewellery and taken in processions through the streets
of the city. In fact, many people visit Mysore from all over the
country to watch this colorful event. There is also a floating
festival in the temple tank at the foot of Chamundi Hill and a
procession of chariots around the temple at the top.

Mysore is named after Mahishasur, the very demon which was slain by
the Goddess. The original Indian name was Mahishur. There are temples
dedicated to the demon king and even a gigantic statue of the demon in
the city.


[edit] Gujarat
Navratri is devoted to Amba mataji. In some homes, images of mataji
are worshiped in accordance with accepted practice. This is also true
of the temples, which usually have a constant stream of visitors from
morning to night. The most common form of public celebration is the
performance of garba and dandia-ras/ras-garba (a form of garba with
sticks), Gujarat's popular folk-dance, late throughout the nights of
these nine days in public squares, open grounds and streets.


[edit] Kerala
In Kerala, Durga Puja signifies the beginning of formal education for
every child aged 3-5 years. While puja goes on in the temple for all
ten days, it is the concluding three days which are most important.
Ashtami is the day of Ayudya Puja, when all the tools at home are
worshipped. Custom dictates that no tools be used on this day. On
navami day, Goddess Saraswati is honored by worshipping the books and
records at home.

Thousands throng the Saraswati temple at Kottayam during this period
to take a dip in the mysterious holy pond, whose source is yet
unknown. Large gatherings are also seen at the famous temples at
Thekkegram (Palghat), in which there are no idols, only huge mirrors.
A devotee finds himself bowing before his own reflection, which
symbolizes that God is within us.

Thrikkavu Temple, a famous Durga Devi Temple at Ponnani, Malapuram
District of Kerala, is also famous for Navarathri festival and
vidyarambham (beginning of formal education). Thousands of children
throng this temple on vijaya desami day for vidyarambham.


[edit] Kashmir
Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir celebrate their festivals with pomp and
show. These days, festivities are more subdued. The favorite deities
of Kashmir are Lord Shiva and Serawali Ma Durga, the one who rides the
tiger. Pundits and Muslims alike vouch that Navratri is important.
Here each Hindu household does the puja at home. All the adult members
of the household fast on water. In the evenings, fruit may be taken.
As elsewhere, Kashmiris grow barley in earthen pots. They believe that
if the growth in this pot is good, there is prosperity all year. The
most important ritual for Kashmiri Pandits is to visit the temple of
guardian goddess Kheer Bhawani on all nine days. On the last day of
Navratri, an aarti is held at the temple, after which people break
their fast. On Dussehra day, Ravana's effigy is burnt.


[edit] Durga Puja outside India
Durga Puja is celebrated by the Indian diaspora residing in different
parts of the world. It is also celebrated in regions and by people
culturally and historically distinct from India.


[edit] Bangladesh
Apart from India, there are numerous Durga Puja pandals in Bangladesh
where বিজয়া দশমী Bijôea Dôshomi is officially recognized as a
government holiday. Festivals are organized in every district center
of Bangladesh, as well as in the thanas and villages. In 2007, the
approximate number of Puja Mandap in Bangladesh is 20,649 [7].


[edit] Nepal
Dussehra in Nepal is called Dashain. As it is chiefly a Hindu nation,
the pattern and dates of the festivals coincide with those of India.
The King of Nepal plays a key role in the festivities, particularly
during Saptami or the Seventh day of the pujas. Despite the overthrow
of monarchy in Nepal, the Royal Family still has a significant
cultural role in the nation.


[edit] United States, Europe and Australia
Durga Puja is organised by communities comprising of Indians in the
US ,Europe and Australia. Although pandals are not constructed, the
idols are flown in from Kumartuli in Bengal. The desire by the
diaspora peoples to keep in touch with their cultural ties has led to
a boom in religious tourism, as well as learning from priests or
purohits versed in the rites. Also recently, the immersion of the
Durga idol has been allowed in the Thames river for the festival which
is held in London.


[edit] Theme-based Pujas and Pandals
Pandals and idols inspired by a particular theme have been the
hallmark of many community or Sarbajanin Pujas in Calcutta since the
1990s. Puja committees decide on a particular theme, whose elements
are incorporated into the pandal and the idols. Popular themes include
ancient civilizations like the Egyptians or Incas. Contemporary
subjects like the Titanic and Harry Potter have also been the subject
in some pandals.

The design and decoration is usually done by art and architecture
students based in the city. The budget required for such theme-based
pujas is often higher than traditional pujas. They attract crowds and
are well-received. Inspired by Calcutta, theme-based pandals are
becoming popular in cities in neighbouring states, particularly Orissa
(see above). Experimentation with the idols does not happen much
outside Calcutta.


[edit] Environmental impact


Image of Durga being immersed in water. This has led to harm to
aquatic life of many plants and animals
"Commercialisation of Hindu festivals like Durga Puja in the last
quarter of 20th century have become a major environmental concern as
devout Hindus want bigger and brighter idols and are no longer happy
with the ones made from eco-friendly materials," said Ramapati Kumar,
a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace. Environmentalists say the idols
are often made from non-biodegradable materials such as plastic,
cement and plaster of Paris, and are painted using toxic dyes.[8]

Environmentalists state that such materials do not dissolve easily.
They reduce the oxygen level in the water, resulting in the death of
fish and other aquatic organisms. The paints used contain heavy metals
such as mercury, chromium and lead which are carcinogenous. These can
adversely affect drinking water.


[edit] Popular culture specific to the puja


Covers of two prominent Bengali periodical’s Autumnal issues. Desh
(left) with a traditional cover art and Unish Kuri (right) with a
fashionable cover.
Durga Puja is one of the most important events in the Bengali
society's calendar. Many Bengali films, albums and books are released
to coincide with the Puja. The West Bengal government gives a
fortnight of holidays for the Pujas. This time is used in various
ways. Many people travel in India or abroad. Gatherings of friends
called "Aadda" in Bengali is common in many homes and restaurants. A
lot of shopping is done, and retailers cash in on this opportunity
with special offers.

Visiting Pandals with friends and family, talking and sampling the
food sold near them is known as Pandal Hopping. Young people embrace
this activity. TV and Radio channels telecast Puja celebrations. Many
Bengali channels devote whole days to the Pujas.

Bengali and Oriya weekly magazines bring out special issues for the
Puja known as "Pujobaarshiki" or "Sharadiya Sankhya". These contain
the works of many writers both established and upcoming and are thus
much bigger than the regular issues. Some notable examples are
Anandamela and Shuktara.


History
Main article: History of Bengal


Buddha and Bodhisattvas, 11th century, Pala Empire


Robert Clive, of British East India Company, after winning the
Battle of Plassey in 1757.


The Bengal Presidency at its greatest extent in 1858


Map of the Bengal province, 1893
Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back
4,300 years,[9][10] when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-
Burman and Austro-Asiatic peoples. After the arrival of Indo-Aryans,
the kingdoms of Anga, Vanga and Magadha were formed by the 10th
century BC, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one
of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and consisted
of several Janapadas.[8] One of the earliest foreign references to
Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around
100 BC, located in an area in Bengal.[11] From the 3rd to the 6th
centuries CE, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta
Empire.

The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka, reigning
around early 7th century.[12] After a period of anarchy, the native
Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and
expanded across the northern Indian subcontinent into Afghanistan
during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Pala dynasty was
followed by a shorter reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty. Islam was
introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by Sufi missionaries.
Subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region.
[13] Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkic general of the Slave dynasty of Delhi
Sultanate, defeated Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered
large parts of Bengal. Consequently, the region was ruled by dynasties
of sultans and feudal lords under the Delhi Sultanate for the next few
hundred years. In the sixteenth century, Mughal general Islam Khan
conquered Bengal. However, administration by governors appointed by
the court of the Mughal Empire gave way to semi-independence of the
area under the Nawabs of Murshidabad, who nominally respected the
sovereignty of the Mughals in Delhi. The most notable among them is
Murshid Quli Khan, who was succeeded by Alivardi Khan.

Portuguese traders arrived late in the fifteenth century, once Vasco
da Gama reached India by sea in 1498. European influence grew until
the British East India Company gained taxation rights in Bengal subah,
or province, following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, when Siraj ud-
Daulah, the last independent Nawab, was defeated by the British.[14]
The Bengal Presidency was established by 1766, eventually including
all British territories north of the Central Provinces (now Madhya
Pradesh), from the mouths of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra to the
Himalayas and the Punjab. The Bengal famine of 1770 claimed millions
of lives.[15] Calcutta was named the capital of British India in 1772.
The Bengal Renaissance and Brahmo Samaj socio-cultural reform
movements had great impact on the cultural and economic life of
Bengal. The failed Indian rebellion of 1857 started near Calcutta and
resulted in transfer of authority to the British Crown, administered
by the Viceroy of India.[16] Between 1905 and 1911, an abortive
attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones.[17]

Bengal has played a major role in the Indian independence movement, in
which revolutionary groups were dominant. Armed attempts against to
overthrow the British Raj reached a climax when Subhash Chandra Bose
led the Indian National Army against the British. Bengal was also
central in the rising political awareness of the Muslim population—
Muslim League was established in Dhaka in 1906. In spite of a last
ditch effort to form a United Bengal,[18] when India gained
independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines.
[19] The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while
the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal
(later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). The
circumstances of partition was bloody, with widespread religious riots
in Bengal.[19][20]

The post-partition political history of East and West Bengal diverged
for the most part. Starting from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.
[21] political dissent against West Pakistani domination grew
steadily. Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the
political voice of the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan by
1960s.[22] In 1971, the crisis deepened when Rahman was arrested and a
sustained military assault was launched on East Pakistan.[23] Most of
the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in West
Bengal. The guerrilla Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually
received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971,
resulting in a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December in the
Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[24] The post
independence history of Bangladesh was strife with conflict, with a
long history of political assassinations and coups before
parliamentary democracy was established in 1991. Since then, the
political environment has been relatively stable.

West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India. In
the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent
Marxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure,
leading to a period of economic stagnation. The Bangladesh Liberation
War of 1971 resulted in the influx of millions of refugees to West
Bengal, causing significant strains on its infrastructure.[25] West
Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front won the
1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National
Congress. The Left Front, led by CPI(M) has governed for the last
three decades.[26] The state's economic recovery gathered momentum
after economic reforms in India were introduced in the mid-1990s by
the central government, aided by election of a new reformist Chief
Minister in 2000.







Religion in ancient Bengal: during pAla and candra
http://tanmoy.tripod.com/bengal/palacandrarelig.html.

Buddhism was on the decline and idol worship on the rise in Bengal at
the beginning of this period. However, under the pAlas, buddhism grew,
and as its last resort India, it developed some unique sects here.
Similarly, hinduism started developing its uniquely east Indian and
Bengali forms during this period.

Hinduism
Vedic and Puranic
Many of the land grants in this period to brahmins mention vedic
rituals, and the brahmins are praised for their knowledge of the
scriptures, grammar, philosophy, and travel to holy places. Their
praised behaviour included prAtaH, nakta, ayAcita and upavAsana.
During this period, brahmins from other parts of India, e.g.
lATadesha, kroraJja, muktAvAstu, and especially madhyadesha coming and
settling down in Bengal. Mention of this settling is found as early as
the donation of land to 205 vaidika brAhmaNas by bhUtivarmA, great-
great-grandfather of bhAskaravarma, but the largest record is of a
large land grant to 6000 brahmanas in zrIhaTTa in punDravardhana by
the candra king zrIcandradeva.

In this period, the pauranic tradition is also in strong force in
Bengal. vedavyAsas mahAbhArata, rAmAYaNa, and the various purANas were
also commonly read. The stories of pRthu, dhanaJjaYa, ambarIsha,
sagara, nala, yayAti, vali, bhArgava, karNa, vRhaspati, agastya,
parashurAma, rAma, hutabhuj and svAhA, dhanapati and bhadrA, viSNu and
brahmA, brahmA and sarasvatI, indra and paulamI, purandara and vali,
shiva and sati, umA, and sarvvANI, sUrya and his horses, samudrotthita
sashadharalAnchana candra of atri's dynasty and kAnti and rohiNI were
already well known. viSNu has already completely merged with avatAra
kRSNa, son of devakI who went to yashodA, and is shrIpati, ksamApati
born of the sea and husband of lakSmI and vasudharA, murArI husband of
lakSmI, janArddana, hari, murAri. The other avatAras like narasiMha,
parashurAma and vAmana are also known.

vaishnavism
Temples to nanna-nArAYaNa and garUD.astambha, temples to kAdambarI
devakulikA, sthAnaka viSNu with lakSmI and sarasvatI, and separate
idols of lakSmI and sarasvatI (one with rAm instead of the usual swan
as her steed) and garUD.a have also been found. Overall, viSNu with
lakSmI, sarasvatI, vasumatI, jaYa, vijaYa, his twelve avatAras, and
brahmA predominate the idol collections. Most viSNu idols in Bengal
are sthAnaka and in a group, few garUD.AsIna, AsIna, and yogAsIna are
also found. The shaYAna style is extremely rare. Similarly, the mot
common form was the trivikrama form, and the next was of the vAsudeva
forms. But some other forms, e.g. abhicArika, shrIdhara (hRSikesha),
vishvarUpa, and caturmukha. Joint idols of brahmA and viSNu, and
separate idols of fat, four faced, four armed brahmA seated on a swan
are also found. lakSmI is usually gajalakSmI, but four armed and two
armed standing idols are also found, sometimes carrying a jhÃpi. Out
of the avatAras of viSNu other than kRSNa, the most popular separate
ones were varAha, narasiMha and vAmana; though a few matsya and
parashurAma, and haladhara were also found. A few idols show influence
of mahAyAnI buddhism on vishnavism in this period.

Shaivism
Shaivism was probably less important in comparison to vaishnavism.
There is mention of establishment of a four headed liGgam for shiva.
nArAYaNapAla donated land to pAshupatas, and is said to have
established one thousand shiva temples. rAmapAla is said to have
constructed three shiva temples, one temple dedicated to the eleven
rudras and others to sUryya, skanda, and gaNapati. The shaivism was
probably of the pAshupata kind started by shiva-shrIkaNTha and
lakulIsha in first century BC. The eighteen Agamas and the six yAmalas
written slightly later, including the piGgalA appendix to the
brahmayAmala describe the pAshupata sect: it describes kAmarUpa,
kaliGga, kaGkana, kAJcI, kAverI, koshala, and kAshmIra as being
outside the AryAvartta which is ideal for shiva worship. However,
gauD.iYa teachers were not considered amongst the best. Shiva was
worshipped mainly as a liGgam, usually one headed, but sometimes four
headed in north bengal. The latter usually has four shakti idols. Also
are found candrashekhara, nRtyapara, sadAshiva, umA-maheshvara,
ardhanArIshvara and kalyANa-sundara or shiva-vivAha. Out of the the
rudra forms vaTuka bhairava and aghorarudra has been found. Both two
armed and four armed IshAna forms have been found. A four armed
sthAnaka is known as virUpAkSa, though it fits nIlakaNTha better. The
naTarAja or naTeshvara form in bengal is distinct from the southern
ones, are usually ten armed as described in matsyapurANa, and do not
have the apasmArapuruSa at his feet. A twelve armed version is also
found. The sadAshiva follows uttara-kAmikAgama and garUD.a purANa
description; it is similar to the southern forms, and might have been
brought from there. The umA-maheshvara was the favourite of the
bengalis: shivakroD.opaviSTa, sukhAsInA, AliGganavaddhA, and
hAsyAnandamaYI umA had tAntrika significance. arddhanArIshvara (man on
right, woman on left) is rare in bengal. The kalyANa sundara forms
have typically bengali characteristics like saptapadI and kartri
vahana. The aghora rudra worship was probably a cult. The wildly
laughing, fiery faced naked vaTukabhairava holding skull and wearing
skull garland and wooden slippers accompanied by dogs is definitely a
tAntrika influence. Some shaivaite teachers, especially of the
sadAshiva form, were respected far outside bengal.

Separate gaNapati and kArttikeYa are also found though gaNesha was
probably more popular. He was always portrayed dancing on a mouse with
a fruit in his hand: a typical siddhiphaladAta. A single example of
shaiva gANapatya sect has been found, and is exactly like the southern
form: probably an import. kArttika is in the mahArAjalIlA pose on a
peacock.

shAkta
Shakta purANa from seventh-eigth century speaks of shakti worship in
rADh.a, vArendra, kAmarUpa, kAmAKhyA, and bhoTTadesha. jaYadratha-
yAmala written outside bengal after the guptas mentions IshAnakAlI,
rakSAkAlI, vIryyakAlI, prajJAkAlI etc., as well as ghoratArA,
yoginIcakra, cakreshvarI, etc. These ultimately lead to the
tantradharma in Bengal, and the forms of shakti in this phase is
probably already precursors to being tAntrika. In fact mahAnIla
sarasvatI seems completely tAntrika. Most idols are four armed and
standing. Sometimes she is alone, sometimes with the entire family of
gaNesha, kArttikeYa, lakSmI, and sarasvatI, and sometimes with family
and brahmA, viSNu, and shiva. A chameleon, perhaps from the caNDI-
kAlaketu story, and two auspicious banana plants, foreshadowing later
kalAbau, are almost always found. The contents in the four hands vary,
and these have been variously called caNDi or gaurI-pArvvatI.
Sometimes, they are only two armed, sometimes joined by other gods
like navagraha. Seated forms are rarer, and have four, six or twenty
hands, and are called sarvvamaGgalA, aparAjitA, pArvvatI or
bhuvaneshvarI, and mahAlakSmI. There is an example of liGgodbhavA
caturbhujA, two arms in dhyAnamudrA, two holding akSamAlA and a book,
called mahAmAYA or tripurabhairavI. Of the ugra forms, mahiSamarddinI
durgA, sometimes called shrI-mAsika-caNDI, is the most popular, in the
oldest forms she is eight or ten armed. The navadurgA form mentioned
in bhaviSyapurANa is also found; this is probably influenced by
mahAyAna and vajrayAna. Twelve and sixteen armed mahiSamarddinI have
also been found, as well as a thirtytwo-armed. A few four and six
armed vAgIshvarI have also been found. Of the mAtRkAs, cAmuNDI was
most common in bengal especially in the twelve armed siddha-
yogeshvarI, two armed danturA, rUpavidyA, ksamA, rudracarcikA,
rudracAmuNDA, and siddhacAmuNDA forms. There is a pishitAsanA on a
donkey, and a carcikA on a corpse. A four armed brAhmaNI, a few
varAhI, and an indrAnI have also been found. gaGgA and yamunA used to
flank the temples, yamunA alone is rare otherwise. gaGgA on a
crocodile is not that rare, and four armed gaGgA idols are also found.
gaGgA is sometimes called dakSiNA-kAlikA.

In later evolution, the distinction between shAkta and Buddhist
tantrik beliefs is often difficult.

saura
sUryya was considered the healer of illnesses, and his importance
continued to rise. The form of the idols were clearly of the western/
Iranian kind, though the interpretation probably got strongly
influenced by the vedic and brahminical thoughts. Most of the idols
are standing, and with entire family: seated ones are rare. They
rarely had six hands. There is one which has three faces and ten
hands; probably this is mArttaNDa bhairava. There are rare idols
influenced by southern rather than western tradition. A few horse-
riding revanta idols are also seen. Some independent navagraha idols
are also found; separately only a single candra and a single bRhaSpati
have been found.

Other
In addition, manasA has been found. The local concept has also
produced gaGgA and yamunA, as well as bauddha hArItI and brAhmaNya
SaSThI. A lady with a child is known: it is not clear whether this is
a depiction of the birth of shiva or viSNu. Rare examples of indra,
agni, varuNa, yama, and kuvera have also been found. zrIcandradeva
also established a maTha for brahmA and eight maThas, two each (one
each for dezAntarI and vaMgAla) for agni vaizvAnara, yogezvara ziva,
jaimini, and mahAkAla ziva. They studied the four vedas and cAndra
vyAkaraNa and housed a variety of people: we find mention of, amongst
others, kAryanirvAhaka and other brahmins, kAYastha, mAlAkAra,
tailika, kumbhakAra, kAlalika, shaGkhavAdaka, DhakkavAdaka,
drAgaD.ika, karmakAra, carmakAra, naTa, sUtradhAra, sthapati,
karmakara, veTTika, nApita, rajaka, mahattara, brAhmaNa, vArika,
gaNaka, and vaidya.

Buddhism
Royal support
Many of the kings in this period belonged to the mahAyAna sect of
buddhism, as is clear from their official documents staring with
appropriate prayers. However, many of the queens seem to be shaivaites
(especially the pAzupata sect), and the kings established many temples
dedicated to shiva, sarvvANi, nArAYaNa, eleven rudras, sUryya, skanda,
gaNapati, and other hindu gods. Sometimes, like under nArAYaNapAla,
not only were temples dedicated to shiva, but arrangement were made to
provide for worship and sacrifice in these temples. The kings also
participated in hindu rituals like bathing during the summer
solistice, giving land grants to brahmins, attending the yajJas, and
organizing srAddha ceremonies. dharmmapAla seems to even have accepted
and somewhat reformed the caste system in society, and it seems that
the later pAlas and kAmbojas might even have become hindus.

vihAras
On the other hand, this support for hinduism pales into insignificance
when compared to the rise of Buddhism during this period. The state
support for building and enhancing vihArAs, already known from the
previous period, continued during this period. Thus dharmmapAla
enhanced the nAlanda mahAvihAra with repairs, and established the
somapura (or somapurI or zrIdharmapAladeva) mahAvihAra (in current
pAhAD.apura in rAjazAhI district; may have originally been a jaina
vihAra). Tibetan sources claim that the latter was established by
devapAla, but archaelogical evidence is against that. Its three
storied central building housed the main temple on the second floor;
with ornamentation on top it looked like a pyramid. The courtyard
surrounding this had buildings at each corner, and 177 housing units
around it. This mahAvihAra had 108 temples, 6 schools and 114
teachers, including such famous ones like bhikSu AraNyaka
kAlambalapAda bodhibhadra, atIsha dIpaGkara for a while, vIryyendra
who made a huge buddha statue in buddhagaYA, and later,
karuNAshrImitra teacher of gokulashrImitra. Under dharmmapAla, in the
traikUTaka vihAra (location unknown, but may be in rADh.a), AcAryya
haribhadra wrote his famous works. Buddhist kumAra ghoSa in 778 AD
established a maJjushrI statue, probably during the rule of
dharmmapAla. vikramazIla dharmmapAla might also have established the
vikramapurI vihAra which housed such teachers as avadhUtAcArya
kumAracandra and lIlAvajra, stdent of lakSmIGkara. In the eighth
century itself, bAlaputradeva made a vihAra in the mahAvihAra of
nAlandA, and devapAla gave five villages for its upkeep. Either he or
dharmmapAla established the odantapurI vihAra as well. Later he put
brahmin vIradeva, who turned buddhist under AcAryya sarvajJashAnti of
kaniSkavihAra and came to devapAla in yashodharmapura vihAra in
budhagaYA, as a teacher in nAlandA. In 851 AD, probably under
devapAla, gomin avighnAkara went to the kingdom of karpadina in
shilAhAra and established a prayer hall in kRSNagiri mahAvihAra.
rAmapAla might have established tje jagaddala mahAvihAra which housed
such teachers as vibhUticandra, dAnazIla, mokSAkara gupta, zubhAkara
gupta, and dharmmAkara.

During mahIpAla and jaYapAla, vikramashIla and somapura mahAvihAras
were international institutions of knowledge. Many great texts were
written during this time, and teachers like atIsha dIpaGkara and
ratnAkara arose. A bengali whose name is recorded as pau-si or ko-lin-
nai took a lot of sanskrit texts to china in 1026 AD.

vihAras were scatterred all over in this period: traikUTaka vihAra in
rADh.a, devIkoTa vihAra, with such teachers as AcAryya advaYavajra,
udhilipA, and bhikSuNI mekhalA, in dinAjapura, paNDita vihAra in
caTTagrAma, phullahari vihAra in nort Bihar, paTTikeraka mahAvihAra,
kanakastUpa vihAra in which was probably the one referred to by
harikAladeva raNavaGkamalla as durgottArA vihAra, and sannagara
mahAvihAras, where lived vanaratna, in tripura, vikramapurI mahAvihAra
with such teachers like avadhUtAcAryya kumAracandra, lIlAvajra, and
puNyadhvaja in vikramapura, jagaddala mahAvihAra with the likes of
vibhUticandra, dAnashIla, shubhAkara gupta, mokSAkaragupta, and
dharmmAkara in varendrI, and many others. The number of smaller
vihAras was huge, and though many famous teachers lived there, not all
have been traced yet.

mahAyAna and its evolutions
The sammatIYavAda of the previous period is almost unrecognizable in
the Bengali buddhism of this phase: the advent of tAntrika beliefs
changed it almost beyond recognition. Traditionally AcAryya asaGga is
associated with this large scale tAntrika influence on mahAyAna. The
exact reasons of this transition are unknown, but it is possible that
increased contact with the himAlaYan tribes might have contributed.
The net resut was that shUnyavAda and vijJAnavAda, yogAcAra and
mAdhyamikavAda, and even sarvAstivAda and mahAsAGghikavAda failed to
capture people's attention except probably during their initiation;
most people focussed on the magical elements and the importance of
mantra giving rise to mantrayAna.

mantrayAna however soon evolved into the complex thoughts of
vajrayAna. nAgArjuna conceived of the shUnyatatva: the idea that
sorrow, karma, and its results are all meaningless, and knowledge or
vijJana, of this fact, the knowledge associated with goddess nirAtmA,
is nirvANa and leads to mahAsukha. bodhicitta is a particular state of
the mind or soul which decides upon attaining true knowledge; it is
compared to the concentration that underlies sexual intercourse. To
control emotions, one needs to arouse them first. This bodhicitta is
supposed to control the emotions and senses to the extent that it is
called vajra, or hard. When bodhicitta becomes vajra, bodhijJAna is
achieved, and this path is called vajrayAna. The gods and goddesses
are the personifications of the mantra needed to control the emotions.
All these are secret, and a teacher is essential in following this
path.

sahajayAna is the part of mantrayAna that deemphasizes the gods,
goddesses, and rituals (‘mokkha ki labbhai pAnI hNAi?’). The way to
bodhi was not known to ordinary people, not even to Buddha himself:
everyone had the capacity to reach bodhi which resided in their own
bodies. They conceived of the female nihilistic nature and male
kindness: their sexual union lead to ultimate happiness. They believed
in basic equality (samarasa) and an empty mind (khasama: like the
sky). They did not believe in asceticism (to vinu taruNi nirantara
Nehe bodhi ki labbhai praNa vi dehe~), and liked simple comfort. They
were totally against brahminical rituals (kajje virahia huavaha home~
| akkhi uhAvia kuD.a e' dhUrme~ ||) and caste system as well, and did
not believe in the vedas and Agamas (jAhera vANacihNa rUba Na jAnI |
se koise Agama vee~ vakhANI ||). Neither did they have much respect
for the other religions of their time (jai nggA via hoi mukti tA
suNaha siAlaha | lomupAD.aNo atthi siddhi tA juvai nitambaha || picchI
gaNahe diTTha mokkha tA moraha camaraha | uJche~ bho aNõ hoi jANa tA
kariha turaGgAha ||), and later extended that to the kApAlikas. In
this period, however, the distinction between the sahajayAnIs and the
kApAlikas was not that marked (A lo dombI toe sama karibe ma sAGga |
nighiNa kAhNa kApAli joi lAga). These kApAlikas remained naked and
used to wear garlands of bones. They wandered alone, and much of their
behaviour arose out of the characters attributed to shiva.

kAlacakrayAna, a separate evolution from vajrayAna looked to rise
above the cycle of time by controlling the activities of the body.
Tradition has it that it arose in sambhala and came to Bengal later,
but one of its main teachers, abhaYakaragupta lived here.

It is to be noted that these forms are not always cleanly
distinguishable. It is not possible to classify the 84 siddhAcAryyas
like AcAryya sarahapAda or sarahavajra of nAlanda from rAjJI city
during ratnapala having been initiated at uDDiYAna, nAgArjuna, student
of sarahpAda at nAlandA, luipAda of uDDiYAna, tillopAda or tailikapAda
of paNdita vihAra from a brahmin family in caTTagrAma during mahIpAla,
nAD.opAda, student of jetAri, of phullahari and vikrashIla vihAra from
varendrI during jaYapAla, shavarapAda, student of sarahapAda, from
baGgAla, advaYavajra, kAhNapAda, bhusuku, student of atIsha dIpaGkara,
from vikramapura, kukkuripAda from a bengali brahmin family, etc. into
the various sects.

All these forms of attaining bodhi relied on haThayoga, which involved
a knowledge of the human body. The concept of the three major veins or
flows, lalanA, rasanA, and avadhUti, their connections and cakras go
back to this period. So does the classification of the religious
natures of men into dombI, naTI, rajakI, caNDAlI, and brAhmaNI.

As the ideas of sahajayAna increased, the difference between Buddhist
tAntrism and Hindu tAntrism slowly disappeared. Starting around the
end of the pAla period Buddhist sahajayAna and Hindu shAkta beliefs
slowly merged. In fact, some of the later forms like kaulamArga (a
brahmnical system of beliefs that accepted the caste system, but whose
main aim was to awaken the kulakuNDalinI, identified with shakti, in
one's own body to unite with shiva) and nAthadharma, both of which
claim descent from matsyendranAtha, who may have been the same as
luipAda described above, can not be nicely classified as either Hindu
or Buddhist.

The nAthadharmIs probably arose out of the rasasiddha yogis, the sect
that did not believe in a freedom after death. That sect believed that
the body is everything. They believed that this physical body could be
converted to the shiva form, and that is freedom. The nathadharmIs
sought for the cause of all ills and sorrows in an unprepared body and
hence which wanted to improve the physical health more than anything
else. Though they do not exist in Bengal today except as a sect of
weavers, a famous character in Bengali folklore is madanAvatI or
maYanAmatI, mother of gopIcÃda or govindracandra (disciple of
jAlandharipAda or AdinAtha or hAD.ipAda, disciple of gorakSanAtha) and
disciple of gorakSanAtha, disciple of matsyendranAtha. Other famous
people of this sect include mInanAthaand cauraGgInAtha.

The avadhUtas, who lived ascetic lives in the forest, the pre-sahajIYA
religion, that looked for simple, often carnal, pleasure, and the
bAUla community of Bengal, who were much closer to the original vajra
and sahajayAna, also arose out of this disintegration of the original
buddhist religion.

Gods and goddesses
Though most of the idols from this period can be linked to mahAyAna
and vajrayAna, a few do belong to the old buddhyAna conception of a
central large shAkyasiMha or bodhisattva gautama in bhumisparsha,
abhaYa, vyAkhyAna, dhyAna, or dharmacakrapravarttana form, surrouded
by buddhAYana, incidents from his life. Some of these buddhas are
worshipped even today as shivas.

mahAyAna pantheon was based on Adibuddha and AdipraJjA or
praJjApAramita. The pancatathAgata or the five dhyAnibuddha, namely,
vairocana, akSobhya, ratnasambhAra, amitAbha, and amoghasiddhi, and a
sixth vajrasattva arose out of this Adibuddha. Each of these
dhyAnibuddha has a bodhisattva and a mAnuSI buddha: present
dhyAnibuddha amitAbha corresponds to bodhisattva avalokiteshvara
lokanAtha and mAnuSI gautama. The bodhisattva's maJjushrI and maitreYa
are also very famous. In addition, their power, all thought of as
different forms of tArA are also important. No idols of Adibuddha have
been found, though some of praJjApAramita have been. A few
dhyAnibuddhas have also been found. The most common idols are of
avalokiteshvara lokanAtha: mainly in the padmapANi, siMhanAda (said to
cure leprosy), SaD.akSarI and khasaparNa (named probably after a place
name in south bengal) forms, rarely of sugatisandarshanarupI form;
both Asana and sthAnaka. There are a few 12-armed and six-armed forms
which seem to be influenced by the Hindu pantheon of gods. The next
most common avalokiteshvara was maJjushrI (linked to akSobhya) in the
forms of maJjuvara on a lion, arapacana on a lotus on a snake, or of
sthiracakra forms. vajrapANi who was the god of power and rain, and
bodhisattva maitreYa are rare. Of the lower deities important are
jambhala (god of wealth like the Hindu kuvera and linked with
ratnasambhara), heruka (with akSobhya), and hevajra (a tAntrika god),
the last usually embracing shakti. A few trailokyavashaGkara have also
been found.

Of the tArAs, khadirvanI tArA (or shyAma tArA, linked to
amoghasiddhi), vajra tArA (linked to ratnasambhara), and bhRkuTI tArA
(linked to amitAbha) are the most common. A sitAtapatrA or sitatAra
might also have been found, and a mahApratisarA (one of the
pancarakSAmaNDala); and a few cannot be classified. Of the other
goddesses, we find mainly mArIci (linked to vairocana and related to
Hindu sUryya), parNashavarI (also called pishAcI, linked to
amoghasiddhi), hArItI (shakti of jambhala), and cuNDA. A few
uSNISavijaYA have aso been found.

vajrayAna conceived of a large number of gods and goddesses; called by
names such as vajrasatva, hevajra, heruka, mahAmAYA,
trailokyavashaGkara, nIlAmbaradharavajrapANi, yamAri, kRSNayamAri,
jambhala, haYagrIva, samvara, cakrasamvara, cakreshvarAlI, kAli,
vajrayoginI, siddhavajrayogini, kulukullA, kurukulla, vajrabhairava,
vajradhara, hevajrodbhava, sitAtapatrAaparAjitA, and uSNISavijaYA. It
is difficult to link these with the actual idols found from this
period: many of these are unrepresented, and many idols do not seem to
have been otherwise named.

Thus, in addition to vihAras, buddhism used to be well an alive in
temples across Bengal. Temples of bhagavatItArA in candradvIpa,
lokanAtha and buddhardhitArA in samataTa, cuNDA in paTTikeraka, and
lokanAtha in harikela were quite famous. Most of the evidence,
however, seems to concentrate in north and east Bengal, and slightly
in bÃkurA-vIrabhuma region.

Jainism
Jainism (or nirgrantha religion) reduced in influence during this
period. It still seems to have existed into the thirteenth century: at
least in lATa, gauD.a, and vaGga; but it was quite weak by then. A few
idols have been found of the digambara sect: mainly of pArshvanAtha,
but a few of RSabhanAtha, AdinAtha, neminAtha, and shAntinAtha as
well.

Up to history of ancient Bengal: religion

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