E-Paper
Morning Maa! Here?s your coffee?
HOW ABOUT waking up Goddess Durga with a steaming cup of coffee and homemade biscuits? And, then offering her halwa and poha for breakfast. This may sound a little surprising, but for Navdurga Puja committee members at Barabanki, it is their way of showing devotion to the goddess. They have infused Puja rituals with modern spirit. Their justification! They say that Maa is just like them and so there is no reason to treat Her differently.
HOW ABOUT waking up Goddess Durga with a steaming cup of coffee and homemade biscuits? And, then offering her halwa and poha for breakfast. This may sound a little surprising, but for Navdurga Puja committee members at Barabanki, it is their way of showing devotion to the goddess. They have infused Puja rituals with modern spirit. Their justification! They say that Maa is just like them and so there is no reason to treat Her differently.
Here is the complete recipe for the Goddess.
The day begins with a cup of coffee at 6:30 am. Around 9 am, after ‘Mahasnan’, she is served halwa, poha and other edibles for breakfast. Then at 1 pm, mahabhog is offered. In the evening, She gets tea/coffee with snacks.
And finally around 9 pm, She is ready for dinner— halwa, puri and other edibles. The organisers also ensure that none of these items are repeated because nobody loves the dishes that are served often. Says Chandrashekar Bhattacharya, the pujari: “I just cann’t understand why everybody feels God as a supernatural entity. She is just like us. Then why not offer her all those things that we use in our day-to-day life.”
“We don’t see anything objectionable in it. Coffee, tea, halwa, poha, puri, etc are all such items that we drink and eat almost daily. Then why not offer the same to the deity,” he explains. What about Mahisasur? Does he get the same modern treatment like Durga? “Oh yes, we make absolutely no discriminations.
We do not deprive him of coffee or other edibles,” says Tushar Kanti Roy, convenor of Navdurga Puja Committee.
After every meal, things are offered as prasad amongst devotees and the committee. Everybody relishes it, he adds. This year She wears a cotton sari.
This puja takes place in Nagar Palika complex at Kamla Nehru Park in Barabanki.
