Cuttack: “Durga Puja, the Silvery Touch of Cuttack” by author, photographer and administrator Raja Parija, is a priceless tribute to the Millennium City, where the author lives, spent his entire youth, found his love, lovely wife while during his prime feature-writing career and above all being a chronicler of Odisha’s rich traditions, heritage and culture.
Research based findings always being the forte of Parija’s writings and the beautiful coffee table books, he has produced so far, this unique document of Cuttack’s Durga Puja also proves how the city’s puja is historically much ancient, rooted in royal courts, temple rituals, and Shakta traditions but on the other hand, Kolkata’s puja is something, which got transformed into a mass-driven socio-cultural festivity and later got prominence through a global tag.
”Durga Puja was there in the city perhaps in the 13-th Century built Barabati Fort, where the deity could be the royal goddess of the rulers. However, later when there were no bridges and people were coming to Cuttack through the Gadagadia Ghat (Mahanadi end) and exiting the city through Puri Ghat (Kathajodi end), the city was already having the Durga Puja tradition and it was also noted by historical records traced to as early as 1514 AD at the BinodBihari – Balubazaar Puja Mandap, in the holy presence of Sri Chaitanya himself. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose started Durga Puja in his ancestral house, Janakinath Bhawan in Odia Bazar in 1916 and, subsequently the Puja tradition taken over by Durgabari Samiti .
Parija, being a son of the Cuttack’s historic soil, was always fascinated by the silver filigree and while working on a book in 2016 on the same, just got the idea to document the Durga Puja in the Millennium City. Established in 989 AD, the city, however, has gone through a massive transformation, but Parija is still mesmerised in the old world charm of Cuttack and also is an active member of Cuttack Heritage Walks group.
CELEBRATING BROTHERHOOD
“The most interesting aspect that makes my city unique is its secular credentials and it is often referred to as the city of brotherhood. The core concept of tolerance for diversity has remained intact over the centuries. The city’s secular fabric and cosmopolitan culture attract people from all over the country. The peaceful co-existence of all faiths is also reflected in the crafts and cultural ethos-in form, symbolism, and aesthetics.The Durga Puja also proves this as the artisans making the decoratives are mainly from the Muslim community,’’ he explains.
Parija also thinks that Odisha being an epicentre of Shakti Peetha and the land where even Buddhism got its Tantric transformation during thr 6th Century AD, the history of celebrating Durga Puja, ie, the present form of worshiping of “Mrunmayee Murti” (clay idol of goddess Durga), goes back to the 16 Century. Very few people know that the celebration of this festival in the Millenniumcity of Cuttack is much older than that of 300-year-old Kolkata. Durga Puja in Cuttack is not just a festival of devotion and fun, it is a grand economic affair involving transaction crores of rupees and creating opportunities for hundreds of skilled and unskilled people.
CROWNING GLORY
The Choudhury Bazar Puja Mandap, which introduced the first “Chandi Medha” (silver filigree tableau) in 1956, was the centre of attraction and was drawing huge crowds from all parts of the state and neighbouring states and today 34 pandals are having the filigree tableau. This year another 2/3 pandals may have “Chandi Medha”. Almost every year, a new “Chandi Medha” comes up. Apart from the gold and silver filigree jewellery of the deities, the massive “Chandi Medhas” are 20 to 25-foot-high, weighing about 1 to 6 quintals of pure silver. In its true sense, the puja is celebrated on a grand scale with all its grandeur. People from across the country and even from abroad visit the city during the Durga Puja to catch a glimpse of the Odia craftsmen’s magic reflected in gold and silver filigree work.
SIX YEARS OF DEDICATION
It took nearly six years for Raja Parija to document the volume, as he had to go through related books and journals, visit “Sakti Peethas” of the state and each “Puja Mandap” of the city, discuss with the members of Puja committees, and finally visit filigree workshops to have first-hand knowledge about the making of “Chandi Medha”.
The most difficult part of documentation work, according to him, was photographing “Chandi Medhas”, as he had to take photographs only on “Shasti Puja” day because once the Puja starts, the idols are decorated with flowers and garlands that cover the intricate details of the tableau.
AWAITING UNESCO TAG
The author of “Durga Puja, the Silvery Touch of Cuttack” feels the celebrations in the Millennium City of Cuttack is similarly or even much more spectacular than its counterpart in Kolkata, the Dusshera festival of Mysore, the Ganapati festival of Mumbai, or the Christmas celebration in Goa. But unfortunately, it is yet to get the much-deserved attention of UNESCO and should be listed in the prestigious “UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage” sites list. This volume comprehensively gives a graphic picture of the 800-year-old legacy of the Durga Puja in Cuttack. Readers will definitely find this work of great value. Parija had also written three other books on the Millennium city of Cuttack: “Silver Splendor of Millennium City”, “Netaji was born here” and “Cuttack-The city of museums.”