Vishwakarma Puja

According to Hindu scriptures Vishwakarma is the divine architect of the universe. In the month of September in eastern India Vishwakarma puja is performed with much enthusiasm. Vishwakarma is considered as the presiding deity of all craftsmen and architects. This puja is performed in factories and shop floors. The day is marked as a day to seek blessings from the god to increase productivity and get inspiration to create novel products.

The otherwise mundane shop floors come alive with festive mood. The idol of Vishwakarma on his carrier elephant is placed in the factory premise. The god holds a water-pot, a noose, Vedas and craftsmen tools in his four hands. Puja is offered to the god which is generally followed by a feast where all workers participate.

Kite flying is a major activity of the day.

I have so many loving memories associated with Vishwakarma puja. When we were young, days before the puja our preparations would start. We would be busy with making kites, preparing manja (applying broken glass mixed with gum on the strings) and planning. On the day of the puja we would return early from school and get positioned on the roof.

Beautiful kites dotted the sky in all colours and shades. The blue autumn sky used to get transformed into a war zone with fliers showing their skills and discarded kites dropping now and then. The air would get filled with cries of “bho-Katta” from distant roofs and parks. I normally assisted my brother in flying kites and shared his triumphs and failure.The day usually ended with a good feast.

No matter how grown up we are still today on this day I feel like going to the roof and fly kites like old days.

Arandhan is performed extensively all over eastern India with much reverence. It is a household puja and is performed on the last day of Bengali month Bhadra (August-September). On the same day goddess of snakes, Manasa is also worshipped in the village shrine.

On the day before, the female members of the family clean up the kitchen and all cooking utensils. The kitchen is decorated with “alpana” and the earthen cooking hearth is also decorated with image of snakes. Lots of goodies are cooked and kept near the hearth. Then the hearth is worshipped and on the day of arandhan no cooking is done in the kitchen. Family members unite that day to have food together and celebrate the day.

Mahalaya is an auspicious day as it heralds the arrival of Ma Durga. It is actually the last full moon before Durga puja starts. It ushers Ma Durga, a sort of invitation to the supreme power to descend on earth.

Mahalaya is considered very auspicious as it marks the end of “Pitri-pakhya”. On this day Hindus perform pujas in memory of their forefathers. This is called “Tarpan”. It is normally performed on the banks of river Ganga where people offer their pujas and sweets and clothes to their ancestors. The rituals start from early dawn and the banks of the river become crowded with people performing the rituals in groups along with the priests.

Mahalaya also indicates the start of “debi-pakhya”, the time for celebration. Durga puja starts on seventh day from Mahalaya and ends on tenth day.