Varanasi,
Benares, is one of the Bengali’s most loved cities which they fondly refer to as
Kashi. When I was a child, my first introduction to the holy city was made by the
film - ‘Joi Baba Felunath’ (Bangla) - directed by Satyajit Ray in 1979. Since
then the images of river ‘ghats’ (stepped embankment) and narrow ‘gullies’
(lanes) of this ancient city has allured me. My first visit to the city was
realized much later in 2011 by the time I had completed my post-graduate
studies. Durga Puja is inarguably the
biggest festival for Bengalis; and it might be interesting to be in Kashi on
such an occasion where Bengalis are settled in large concentrations – this
is the idea which propelled me to make a quick decision to visit the city right
in the middle of the Puja this year, and that too at the probable cost of
missing upon the festive mood in Kolkata – the Mecca of this autumnal festival.
And, now, I thank myself for having had made the switch!
Puja & Pandals
The
Vibhuti Express landed me in Benares on the eighth day of the festivity – ‘Ashtami’. Having had checked into a
backpackers’ hostel in Bhelupura, I got started on my look-out for how the
Bengalis of Benares do celebrate their biggest festivity – the Durga Puja. Bengali
populace here is concentrated in old parts of the city along the river, namely,
Bangali Tola, Sonarpura, and also in Bhelupura. As per the newspaper reports, this
year, Puja was organized at about 250 premises in the city-proper. This is
almost nothing in comparison to the scale of the festivity in Kolkata – where I
was coming from, and where the count is close to an astonishingly high 3,500! Though
one would be fool in even attempting such a comparison; however, it was hard to
avoid.
A
large number of the pavilions were set up by blocking the narrow alleys in old
quarters of the city close to the river. Arrangements made at the premises of
two renowned charitable institutions-cum-‘ashrams’
founded by Bengalis, namely Bharat Sevashram Sangha at Sigra and Ramkrishna
Mission on Luxa Road, attract citizens and visitors alike. Benares, being a
pilgrim city, is dotted by many low-budget accommodation facilities called ‘dharamshalas’. Few community
associations make arrangements for Puja by
covering up the inner courtyards in such premises facilitating large
congregations. Other associations come up with elaborate pandals/ pavilions set up on open-grounds or public-plazas, such as
the one at the Hathuwa Market.
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| Size of the pavilion is limited by the width of narrow lanes in Sonarpura |
Benares
is still not blown away by the so-called ‘theme-puja’
fever, which has taken Kolkata in its tight grip for over a decade now. ‘Puja-pandals’ in present Kolkata are
largely designed as theme-based art installations, drawing large number of
visitors who do not mind queuing up in front of such ornate pavilions for hours.
On the other hand, in Benares, the pavilions are not too elaborate and the clay-idols
are still designed in old-school style – Goddess Durga wearing red-saree, Lakshmi in pink and Saraswati in
white or royal blue. It reminded me that the idols in Kolkata were also used to
be draped in these particular colors, but not anymore. Somehow, it felt that Benares
still holds the essence of the sacred in its festivity, which is fast declining
in Kolkata – it being transformed into an annual art extravaganza.
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| Traditional colors of idols' clothing being retained. Puja at Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Sigra |
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| Dharamsalas as seats of celebration (Puja organized by Young Boys' Club at Bireshwar Pandey Dharamshala, Luxa Road) |
Speakers
playing blaring music would announce that a puja-pandal
is down the alley; a canopy of running lights would guide one along the
lane. The choice of music played is good enough to indicate if the arrangements
are made by a Bengali or a non-Bengali association! Interestingly, the
gathering space inside the pavilion is split into two compartments for the two
genders. Members of the association gather and largely spend these few days of
festivity at the pavilions; hence, adequate sitting arrangements are being made.
Competitions like ‘dhunuchi-naach’ (typical
dance form holding clay-pot with burning incense) will be organized for the
members to participate.
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| Running light display being quite effective to guide one along the narrow lane |
Visarjan
I had
an impression that immersion of clay idols in River Ganga on the tenth and
final day of the festive period is an attraction. It would be accompanied by
grand processions starting from the pandal
till the river ghat, where the
idols will be loaded in a boat and taken to the middle of the river stream and
immersed into water. However, this year immersion of idols in river was banned,
in compliance to an order issued by the High Court in 2013. A month back in Benares, a group’s insistence upon immersing Ganesh idol in Ganga was arrested by the
police, which had sparked unrest in the city. Fearing similar commotion, a
sense of tension was in the air, as the same was being discussed by almost everyone
in the city. As a mark of protest, few of the organizers had worshipped ‘kalash’ (urns) instead of clay-idols.
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| Kalash (urn) instead of the idols in a puja-pandal at Hathuwa Market - as a mark of protest. |
To
cope with the situation, the city authority had identified and prepared nine
water-bodies, or, ‘kunds’ to facilitate
immersion. Moreover, two new tanks were being prepared, especially for
immersion purpose, at Khirkiya Ghat in the north, and one beneath the
Viswa-sundari Bridge in the southern end of the city. Even taking out grand
processions accompanying the immersion was prohibited this year.
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| Immersion of idols in river Ganga was prohibited. Immersion at Lakshmi Kund. |
Ramlila
I was
expecting a Dussehra-special episode
of the renowned ‘Ganga-aarti’ at
Dasaswamedh Ghat on the final day of the festivity; however, I was told that
it’s just the same. What was special, apart from Durga Puja in this part of the
year, was ‘Ramlila’, particularly the
one which is being organized at the Lanka ground of Ramnagar –City of Lord Rama – across the river Ganga. ‘Ramlila’ – is the dramatic enactment of
the life of Lord Rama as described in
the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’. The Ramlila tradition, including the one
staged in Ramnagar, has been acknowledged by UNESCO as an oral and intangible
heritage of humanity in the year 2005. This 185 years old Ramnagar-version is
staged for 31 days, with a daily staging of an act from the play as penned by
Goswami Tulsidas in ‘Ramcharitmanas’ – commonly
referred as ‘Manas’. This particular
practice in Ramnagar was initiated in the year 1830 CE by the then Kashi Naresh (King of Benares); and it
has continued receiving the royal patronage. Even today, the present Kashi Naresh attends the play every
evening, atop an elephant.
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| Ramlila at Lanka Ground in Ramnagar. World Heritage. |
I was
surprised to find that the staging of the play is still being held in primitive
fashion; neither any electronic amplifying system, nor any electric lighting
was in use at the arena – rather the typical rurally available ‘petromax
lights’ atop bamboo poles were hoisted to lit up the staging area. As the play
progresses, many an audience were reciting from their personal copies of the ‘Manas’ under the beam of a torch light
which they were carrying. Though thousands would have been present at the
ground, there was no chaos. One would be scolded by the audience if he/she wasfound
chatting, talking over a phone, or clicking photographs. What I realized is
that Ramlila is not a mere
entertaining play; rather it’s a serious ritual which the audience adheres to
every evening over a month. Unlike a usual gathering, if the audience finds
something appreciable, theywould not burst into claps; rather the chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ or, ‘bolo Sri Ramachandra jee ki jai’ would
resound in the ground. Unfortunately, I had to miss the grand show of Ravan Dahan – burning of the effigies of
the demons- as it was supposed to start late in the night.
Other
communal rituals associated with Ramlila
in Benares are Nakkataiya (cutting
the nose of Supranakha – Ravana’s sister) and Bharat Milap. Tableaux with staging of
various scenes from Ramayana would do
the rounds of various parts of the city on occasion of Nakkataiya, which is famous in Chetganj in Benares. On the day next
to Dashami, the reunion of Rama and Bharat is enacted at the historic site of Nati Imli in Benares
where thousands gather, and so does the Kashi
Naresh.
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| Nothing extraordinarily special at Dashashwamedh Ghat on Dusshera |
