Ganesh Chaturthi

 Ganesh Chaturthi

By Jawhar Sircar

This is the crazy season of Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai as Kolkata will have its equally crazy Durga Pujas next month. Though there is no doubt that Ganesh Pujas are also fast catching up in Kolkata, the Bengalis still retain their best for Durga Pujas. In fact, these two mega festivals offer good studies in similarities and contrasts.

Where community or sarvajanin celebrations are concerned, Ganesh or Vinayak Chaturthi is 26 years older than Durga Puja. Before there is a bandh in Kolkata on this issue, it is best to mention that there is a clear record about the Chaturthi being celebrated in a collective form in Pune in 1892. Then, came Lokmanya Tilak, who started spreading Ganesh Utsav all over Maharashtra from 1894 onwards. It is interesting that both Mumbai-Pune's and Kolkata's festivals actually began as expressions of strong nationalist sentiments. Where Bengal is concerned, public pujas of all deities have been hijacked in recent times by the ruling party — to associate the organisers and supporters with their brand of entertainment-based politics.

 Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadra on the fourth day of the brighter paksha. While Durga Pujas are usually celebrated mainly by Bengalis in their own state and in other parts of India and the world, Ganesh Chaturthi is observed not only in Maharashtra but also all over the Deccan — wherever the Maratha empire spread. It is also celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka and Goa. In Tamil Nadu it is called Pillayar and in Kerala it is known as Lambodhara Piranalu. Historically, it was Shivaji, who celebrated this occasion on a grand scale in the second half of the 17th century. We find several references to Ganesh puja in Maratha territory, through the next three centuries.

John Murdoch, who compiled descriptions of Indian festivals from the accounts of European observers in the 19th century, mentioned it. “Ganesa, said to be the son of Siva and Parvati or of Parvati alone, is worshipped under the names of Ganesa, Vinayaka, Ganapati, Pillayar, etc. He is worshipped in every Hindu home and every school boy begins his lessons by lessons with ‘Sri Ganesaya Namah’; every Indian book opens with it. Every merchant asks his help before commencing any business. In marriages and every kind of religious ceremonies, Vinayaka is first invoked. "Ganesh’s role was also noted in the 19th century by H.H. Wilson who said “A Hindu thinks that if his efforts are a failure this is not due to his own incapacity, but to demoniacal obstruction. The aid of Ganesa, as lord of demons, is therefore sought”. This demon term is very interesting because Ganesh, had links with subaltern creatures, called Ganas, not ‘demons’. ‘Ganas’ meant a whole range of so-called ‘unclean’ and short non-Aryan people, ie, Bhootas, Nagas, Yakshas, Pisachas, Guhyakas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, Raksha-ganas, Siddhas, Pramathis and others. They were severely vilified by Sanskrit society, but as India moved away from this minority view of life and the strong majority presence was felt and the skills of the darker people were accepted, this toxicity mellowed. Obviously, the elephant head signified that an ancient worship of the worship of this animal in the western parts of India was absorbed into the pantheon of mainstream Hinduism — through Puranic legends.

Ganesha is thus a metaphor for the new composite India and the appellation Vighneswar or Vighna-Raja, actually its meaning changed from the "lord of all troubles" to the "remover of obstacles. He is mentioned in the Shiva Puran, the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata and continued, however, to be Gana-isa or Gana-pati, the lord of the tribe of Ganas, never obliterating his origins. Ganesh is, thus, one more of the non-Sanskritic deities to join the Indian pantheon like Kubera, the wealthy yaksha or Hanuman. Most animals deities found their way to holy precincts as 'vahans' of the Gods, but at least three of them are found worshipped in the own right, ie, Hanuman, the snake goddess under different names and the elephant-headed Ganesh. There are a lot of tales about how Parvati's new son lost his own head in battle and an elephant's head had to fitted in, but the basic point is that this dominant animal of India walked into Devalaya, on the body of a young god. It represents, most probably, a pre-Hindu cult that thus got absorbed into the pantheon. In the ever expanding domain of civilisation in India, where the Kshetra or human settlements kept overpowering the Vana-anchal, the elephant was a major link that moved from the pristine jungle to the urban habitat, and its utility was even more, in both war and peace. It was a symbol of royalty and divinity as in Airavat, the elephant of Lord Indra, or in Maya’s dream of a celestial elephant and Buddha's Divine Conception. He was just too powerful to be left unattended.

 Exactly a century ago, Charles H. Buck described the community worship of Ganapati thus: "Highly gilded images of this deity, riding on his steed, a rat, are first consecrated, and, after being retained for some days in a building, are carried in procession to a river, or pond, or to the sea, and thrown into the water with parting adieus and good wishes." So contemporary, isn't it? Except, that nowadays Ganesh comes in a staggering variety of styles, postures and poses. Though it has not yet caught up with the crazy ideas of Kolkata, like making idols from broken glass and betel nuts, it is not too far away as many unorthodox ideas are now being tried out.

Like Kolkata, pandals are erected all over the towns in western India and contributions sought from the entire community. Families also install Ganesh in their homes as he is certainly more portable than Durga and her huge family, thus this celebration is both private and public. The Mumbai film industry has certainly played a very colourful role in further popularising "Ganapati Bapa Moriyaa". Dazzling celluloid utsavs have taken Ganapati all over the world and youngsters all over are also taking part in this valued-added cult and the filmi dances. Bollywood songs on Ganesh have been drummed in with a lot of heart-throbbing music, but the best aartis that are still sung in Maharashtra were composed three centuries ago by the poet saint Samath Ramdas.

 There are lots of legends on why his tusk is bent on the left or right, and how he broke his tusk (ek danta) and one is that he grabbed a fruit from his mother and tried to eat it hurriedly — before his brother came. It may be more interesting to move to South East Asia to know more. Thailand still worships him as Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikkanesuan, derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara. In Burma, he is known as Maha Peinne, which is from Pali Maha Winayaka. Sri Lankan Buddhists call him Gana Deviyo, while the Hindus there call him Aiyanayaka Devioy. But the most interesting fact is his worship in Japan, where he is popularly known as Shoten. In fact, as Benoy Behl says, that the oldest Ganesha temple in the world is the Matsuchyama Shoten in Tokyo, where Ganesha has been worshipped for a thousand years. It is amazing how Ganesha was also interwoven into the Tantric tradition of Japan and how the Japanese pray to him in Sanskrit, with the mantra Om Kri Gyaku Un Swaka.

 Just a last word about his ‘child-like behaviour’ of Ganesh, like taking up a challenge with his brother, Kartikeya, to discover the “three worlds” and then simply circling his parents because he felt that they were all mattered in the universe: while the hyper-energetic Kartikeya went on a ‘space mission’ on his peacock rocket. It must be remembered that rivalry between the Shaivait and Vaishnavait cults was rather strong in the ancient and middle periods, which led to skirmishes and while Krishna’s Balagopal version was a instant hit because of vatsalya, Shaivaits had, however, no such baby to love. Ganesha filled this gap and his big tummy made him all the more endearing. Orientals have never shied away from displaying their large bellies, as it represented wealth and prosperity, like the ‘Laughing Buddha’ in China and Japan. It is, therefore, now time for us to recognize the so many roles that this Lord of Ganas performed, in so many ages and stages.

Om Ganeshay Namah!

Janmashtami— the controversy over Krishna and Christ

Janmashtami— the controversy over Krishna and Christ.

              

Jawhar Sircar

      Krishna is definitely a fascinating subject for scholars, whether religious or analytical, but he troubles historians the most. Contrary to normal belief, Krishna is not mentioned in the Vedas, and with great difficulty, we find his first undisputed mention as a character only in the Chhandogya Upanishada of the seventh century BC. He is also cited in the later Taittirya Aranyaka, but there is no reference to the legend of his birth. This story enters our collective memory more than a thousand years later, in the Vishnu Purana and the Hari-Vamsa of the 3rd or 4th centuries of the Christian Era. In between, we do get some stray references in a few sacred narratives, but Krishna was certainly not portrayed as the ‘great god’ that he became in later tradition. Janmashtami is not mentioned as a popular celebration and Krishna himself is completely overshadowed for several centuries by Vasudeva and Balarama or Sankarsana. They were more powerful deities in the pre-Christian era and Krishna often appeared as a ‘junior partner’ of Vasudeva or Balarama — till the Gupta period, roughly the 3rd century AD.

        The Mahabharata and the Gita came out in their final shape around this time and it was only then that Krishna emerged more prominently. This was also when the two major cults, Vaishnavaism and Shivaism were contesting rivals and Krishna was presented as the supreme god of the Vaishnavas. At this point, he subsumed both the earlier deities of Vasudeva and Balarama into his own legend. We have a lot of evidence in Gupta and post-Gupta sculpture portraying the miraculous deeds of the divine child. They valorise him as the mascot of the new settled pastoral civilisation that arose on the banks of the Yamuna. Eminent scholars  like  DD Kosambi and Jan Gonda (pronounced as Khonda) marvels at the various images and motifs of the child god. Among them, the sculpture of Krishna holding Govardhana Hill over his head to protect his people against torrential rains is a favourite. Historians of religion view this as representing the victory the newly settled civilisations and their agriculture-cum-pastoral economy over the wandering animal-grazing 'Aryan' tribes — through the symbolic win of Krishna over the omnipotent Indra.

        Even so, we do not have sufficient proof that Janmashtami was celebrated on such a grand scale during the Gupta period and most scholars feel that this fervour picked up another millennium later, during the Bhakti movement. Surdas, Meera and Bhakti poets played a great role in the15th-16th centuries to portray Balagopala as a playful loveable little god. The Shaivas had brought out the baby Ganesha, who found instant popularity, therefore Vaishnavas required their own cuddling infant god; Balakrishna. Radha, incidentally, was nowhere around the scene, she came in only after the Bhagavata Purana was composed many centuries later. She appeared in full form only when Jayadeva romanticised the divine couple. Later, Vidyapati, Chandidas, Chaitanya, Surdas, Sankardeva and others popularised lyrical romantic poems of Radha-Krishna.

        Let us return to the 4th century texts that mention Bala-gopala. We may note with interest that this is around the same time when several tribes from western and central Asia had started settling in India. They included the pastoral Abhiras, Gujjars and even Hunas, who took to India's sacred traditions, but they also held on to their own stock of colourful tales and ancient legends. Some scholars like RG Bhandarkar and Sumanta Banerjee seriously felt that the Bala-Krishna legend came into India from the Abhiras in this 'cultural exchange'. The fact that there were some shared features with the Middle Eastern legends, however, gave rise to a raging controversy in the colonial period. It was stoked in 1874 when Albrecht Weber published his book, "An Investigation into the Origin of the Festival of Krsna Janmastami". His logic was that, like Jesus Christ, Krishna was sent by God to save the world and that both divinities were born in dreadful circumstances. Jesus came to this world in a shabby stable that he shared with animals and  Krishna was born  in a cold jail room. Both were among people who also tended animals — Jesus was looked after by sheep herders and Krishna was with the keepers of cows. Christ was hounded by cruel king Herod who wanted to kill him instantly, just as Krishna was chased by the blood-thirsty tyrant Kamsa.

        Religious texts were quoted profusely, as happens on such occasions, and even later scholars like James Kennedy and Nicholas Macnicol were convinced that Janmashtami originated from Christian tales. In 1895, Edward Hopkins declared that the entire miraculous story of the birth of Krishna was taken from the Bible, while Steven Rosen claimed that the whole "Hindu system of avataras or divine incarnations was borrowed from the conception of Christ’s incarnation". Lorinser stated emphatically that "the Bhagavad Gita was simply an expurgated New Testament”.

       Poor Krishna! He had to tackle not only Putana, the demoness and Kamsa his terrible uncle, but he now had also these foreign scholars, to deal with just  because he happened to be born under such a star ! Earlier, Vedic devas could afford heavenly or mysterious origins that are beyond our reach, but after Buddhism proved so popular with definite but divine tales of the  birth of their heroes, the new attractive brand of Hindu deities also needed similar  birth legends. Characters in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas were all born on this humble earth, but they were all accompanied by super-hit stories of astounding miracles. This may explain why a date had to be found, even if it is unsettled, as in the case of Gautama Buddha.

         Even after two thousand years of research and argument, the year of the birth of Jesus Christ remains unresolved and the date varies among different groups of Christians between the nights of 24th of December and the 6th of January.  Religion is a matter of faith and ritual as well as a lot of festivity, not an exercise in exact sciences. Besides, in the past, people were hardly bothered about birth certificates, like schools insist nowadays, or even about Aadhar cards.

         The Ashatami of the Krishna-paksha of Bhadra is normally too drenched for any open air fun, but despite this, countless people brave the rains and visit temples. On Janmasthami, millions throng them all over India.  Mathura, Vrindavan, Dwarka, Puri, Nabadwip, Guruvayoor, Udupi, Kanchipuram, Imphal and other Vaishnava strongholds like the Naam-ghars of Assam. Often, Raas Lilas depicting the dalliances of a mischievous youthful Krishna are considered the best way to welcome his birth, which is putting the cart before the horse. In many parts of India, devotees observe day-long fasts and recite from religious texts as they celebrate Krishna's birth at midnight; with prasad and savouries. Tamils draw figures of Balakrishna's tiny steps walking into their dwellings, in the same way that Bengalis draw Alpana designs on the floor showing steps for Lakshmi to come in.

     On this Gokul-ashtami day, Maharashtrians organise contests for youthful 'Govindas', to climb precariously on the shoulders of friends, who are balanced in three or even four or five tiers, with each group on the layer below, to form tall human pyramids. The successful contesting group that manages to reach its 'Govinda'-boy to shatter the curd-filled earthen pots that are strung up really quite high. The whole of India is amazed at see the tenacity and the skill, as well as the risk-taking ability of these young men. Tamils also have a similar tradition called Uriadi and these highly skilled gymnastic displays give a lot of merriment but also considerable amounts of prize money. One only wishes that this sport be included in the next Olympic Games, because Indian men could then manage to win at least one gold medal — with Lord Krishna’s infinite blessings — as they could win none in the last Olympics.

Remembering Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan

Remembering Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan

                                           Jawhar Sircar

               BV Keskar was Pandit Nehru’s Information Minister for a whole decade, from 1952 to 1962.  For him, Hindi film songs were a strict ‘no-no’ where Akashvani was concerned, as in his opinion, it should be the mission of the public broadcaster, to encourage only classical music. He had to face a lot of pressure and ridicule for this rather obdurate stand, but there is no doubt that had it not been for him, Indian classical music may have never reached and enthralled the common man, because classical music by its very nature was meant primarily for the elite.

          One of the several methods that Keskar introduced to popularise classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, was by starting the long tradition of organising the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan. It all that started with a three-day concert on the 23^rd of October, 1954, at Sapru House, New Delhi. This year will mark the 64^th year of this festival that has helped so much in popularising Shastriya Sangeet and make it an integral part of India’s composite culture.  Keskar felt the government had to intervene to help India’s classical tradition because Pandits and Ustads were losing the support of numerous princes, rajas and nawabs who had to integrate their ‘princely states’ with the new Republic of India. Everyone was really very worried lot. We must remember that in the 1950s and 1960s, there were very few cities that had institutions for the public funding and  organising music annual concerts. Though the Presidency towns of Madras, Calcutta and Mumbai had their own version of the “All India Music Conference” in the early decades of the 20^th century, like Ramaswami Iyer’s AIMC and Music Academy of 1927-28 in Madras, support to classical music remained rather sporadic and uncertain. North Kolkata had a tradition started in (sayI Pathuriaghata and the Dover Lane Music Conference had commenced from 1952, but not every town was so lucky.

Keskar’s message was simple: the State would take over the role of princely patrons and ensure fair play, through a system of ‘grading’ artistes to ensure that the best received their just dues.  It was not absolutely perfect, but at least there was now a transparent system in position.  Keskar had started first with the National Music Programme and then branded the Akashvani Sangeet Sammlen into a reliable and steadfast patron of the arts. Initially, only music experts of international renown were invited and these concerts were broadcast live, but as the Sammelan spread to other important cities of India, AIR decentralised its broadcast and dissemination, to its regional networks and Akashvani reached the common man in his home, as classical music never had, hitherto before. Regional classical artistes vied with each other to participate in this grand exercise. But what was more important was the preservation of these invaluable recordings and Akashvani archives thus served as the repository of the nation’s cultural wealth. Just as Vividh Bharati played a sterling role in ‘democratising’ popular music among the masses, Akashvani’s Sangeet Sammelan did wonders for classical music. 

 Old timers recall how the legendary Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was unable to participate as his health was failing fast, but almost every famous vocalist or musician was indeed honoured to be chosen to perform for this Sammelan.  Top-Grade and A-Grade artistes made it a point to perform in as many festivals as possible, and even now many look back and still complain that they had not been invited as many times as they deserved. India’s musical legends are available to us today though recordings of their performances at the Sammelans.  I mention a few who are with us no more: M S Subbulakshmi, D V Paluskar, Amir Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Bhismillah Khan, Pannalal Ghosh, Kumar Gandharva, Mallikarjun Mansoor, Gangubai Hangal, Acharya Brahaspathi, Bhimsen Joshi, V G Jog, S Balachander, Shemangudi Srinivas, G N Balasubramanyam et al. The best renditions of living legends like Pandit Jasraj, Bala Muralikrishna, Kishori Amonkar, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Debu Choudhary, Amjad Ali Khan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, T N Krishna, Hari Prasad Chaurasi and Shiv Kumar Sharma, are now part of AIR’s archival masterpieces.

Those were the golden days of Akashvani before television captured the imagination of the nation.  But artistes continued to perform even after Doordarshan splashed with colour in 1982 and came up with memorable programmes.   It became an accepted practice to begin this Sammelan on the same day, in mid-October each year though a few were held as late as December because sarkari funds were not available.  The number of days was, however, reduced in the late 1980s from three to just one as it was becoming increasingly unmanageable and costly. 

While some events have a mixture of Hindustani and Carnatic classicals, there are eight events meant only for Hindustani classical music and there are four concerts reserved for Carnatic in the south. A judicious mix between the seniors and the relatively junior artistes is another practice of these Sammelans. Those who are senior artistes of today recall with pride how they had performed on the same stage as veritable legends. Flipping through the brochure of 1987, one sees veterans  like Sharan Rani, , Ali Ahmad Hussian, C R Vyas, Bimal Mukherjee, Basavraj Rajguru, T.V.Soundararajan, Ghulam Mustafa Khan rubbing shoulders with un-recognisable young faces like Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Buddhaditya Mukherjee, Parveen Sultana as well as the child-like face of L Subhramanyam.

Anecdotes are in plenty. When Savita Devi, the renowned vocalist, ended her performance at Vadodara in the late hours of the night, the audience simply refused to get up, even after repeated requests that the evening had ended. Savita Devi had no option but to continue playing for about an hour more, until, the crowd was satisfied. 

Arvind Parikh still remembers how he was signalled desperately by Gajanand Rao Joshi at the Indore Sammelan to literally race through the last part of his recital, as he was to make space for Ustad Bismillah Khan’s shehnai. Joshi’s watch was running much too fast and it was only when the audience greeted Gajanandji’s announcement with laughter, that he looked at his watch and went red in the face.

Shanno Khurana recalls how she was hijacked overnight to perform in Lucknow in the mid 80s, because Madhuri Mattoo could not appear, and after a very satisfying performance she went home.  It was then that she received a panic call from the Programme Officer that the recording equipment had failed and they would lose their jobs if she did not come to the studio once again and re-do the entire performance, from memory.  How official records were fudged and the sound of the audiences’ claps brought in at the right intervals remain, however, a matter of mystery.

          After the digitization and the complete commodification of music nowadays, we have a greater choice to access music but every day listeners in millions prefer Indian classical music. Today, so many decades later, when we take classical music for granted, we must recall how precarious were the early years after Independence, when a new nation called India struggled to form its identity in the family of nations. It had not only to to rediscover its past glory in music but also improvise new means to ensure that every citizen was aware of its heritage and then take an informed choice. The role of the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelan has surely come down in the last few decades but we have to remember the critical role that BV Keskar and his Akashvani played — even long after he left — to ensure that the great classical tradition was embedded in the public mind. And also, the knowledge that royalty enjoyed in the past was available to the common man — as democracy ruled over sound waves.

Durga Through Curious Eyes — How British Viewed the Pujas in old Calcutta

 Durga Through Curious Eyes

— How British Viewed the Pujas in old Calcutta

    Jawhar Sircar

          ‘The Sunday Statesman’, Miscellany 23  September 1984

When first British merchants entered Bengal in the seventeenth century and came in contact with Hindu religious festivals, their initial reaction ranged from curious appreciation to outright horror. The strange deities, the colourful costumes and the cacophony of weird flutes, pipes, cymbals and drums of all types, conjured an impression that evoked either admiration or disgust. One of the earliest accounts of the celebrations of Durga Puja that we get is from James Mitchell, clerk to a Sea Captain, who visited Calcutta in 1748. His diary notes of 29 August 1748 make interesting reading, though as P.T. Nair points out, Mitchell had mistaken Durga for Jaggannath. A few years before, an Englishman had published a grotesque description of the Puri festival, which was fresh in Mitchell’s mind. Here  is  an  excerpt  from  his note, in  the  style  of   mid-eighteenth century English where ‘Gentoo’ means ‘Hindu’ and ‘Chintz’ refers to a colourful cloth. During that period, capital letters appeared quite differently and so, I have kept it that way. 

"In September, the Gentoo's grand annual Feast was celebrated by every individual that, by parsimony and hoarding throughout the year, could afford the expense; a great emulation prevailing on that occasion to excel in show and splendour. At the upper end of a large oblong half decorated with figured Chintz hangings, large wax candles and such on a Pedestal raised from the Floor by a flight of Steps under a Canopy with Curtains of rich silk or Chintz is placed a hideous figure of painted wood superbly dressed with Jewels, Pearls and ca. to represent their favourite Deity. On each side of the hall are covered Tables with benches, furnished with all the delicacies of the Country; and one with the choicest Viands and Liquors for such Europeans as are admitted.

"When a Gentoo enters, he approaches by the Area  in  the middle of the Hall with much seeming devotion to the foot of the Steps and having made a low obeisance and short Prayer retires to his place at one of theTables. Music, Dancing Girls with every Festivity that can be devised is exhibited for two days; On the third the Idol is placed in a Budjero or Barge, with a procession of much pomp, accompanied with the country music and embellished with Flags, Streamers, and ca. and rowed to the middle of the River, covered with numbers of the same description; the air resounding with music, blazing with Fireworks and roaring with repeated discharges of  Cannon until the whole is concluded by loud acclamations on throwing Jagernaut with all his ornaments from each Budjero into the Ganges the water of which is deemed sacred; it would be considered Sacrilege in a Gentoo to touch any of the floating Idols or their ornaments; but Mahometans and other sectarys think it no impiety to strip them of such ornaments as they judge worth saving and afterwards to split  and burn the Image".

Towards the close of the 18th century, we have a French Army Officer, L De Grandpre, who visited Calcutta in 1789 and 1790, giving us a graphic, albeit exaggerated narrative:

"This madam Dourga, who has deified the Ganges, is held in great veneration: festival is celebrated every year in the month of October, and while it lasts, nothing is known but rejoicing; the native visit each other, and on three successive evening assemble together for the adoration of their divinity. Her statue is placed in a small niche of clay, which is gilt and adorned with flower pieces of tinsel, and other similar ornaments. The statue itself is dressed in the most magnificent attire they can procure, is about a foot high, and the niche with its appendages about 3 feet and half.

“All the rich celebrate a festival of this kind in their own houses, and are ambitious of displaying the greatest luxury, lighting up their apartments in the most splendid manner. Such as cannot afford to observe this solemnity at their own house, go to that of some neighbour; there is one of these celebration at least in every quarter of the town, so that all the inhabitants have an opportunity of paying their devotions.

"The room is furnished with seats for the guests, and the statue is placed on a small stage concealed by a curtain, as in our public theatres. The curtain being drawn up by the servants, a  concert begins, in which the principal instrument is a sort of bagpipe. The reed of this not being flexible, and the performer being wholly ignorant how to modulate its tone, nothing can be less musical than the sound it produces, unless it be the tunes that are played upon it: the most vile and discordant clarinet is melody itself compared with this instrument, which would literally split the ears of any other audience".

          This was exactly one hundred years after Job Charnock had landed and the British had settled down quite comfortably. By this period, the East India Company had declared  Calcutta as the capital and the undisputed centre of English possessions in the eastern part of the world. By the early part of the 19^th century, when Ram Mohun had not yet become a “raja’ and Hindu College was just about to be set up, Durga Puja had acquired the stature of the major festival of the year in Calcutta. It was accompanied by unprecedented pomp and pageantry and let us see a clipping from a contemporary newspaper:

"DURGA PUJA"

Calcutta Gazette, 20th October 1814: "The Hindu holidays of the Doorga Poojah began yesterday and will continue until the 25th instant. Many of the rich Hindoos, vying with one another in expense and profusion, endeavour by the richness of their festivals to ‘get a name amongst men’. The principal days of entertainment  are the  20th, 21st and 22nd, on which Nikhee, the Billington of the East, will warble her lovely ditties at the hospitable mansion of Raja Kishun Chand Roy and his brothers, the sons of the late Raja Sookh Moy Roy. Nor will the hall of Neel Money Mullick resound less delightfully with the affecting strains of Ushoorun, who, for compass of voice and variety of note, excels all damsels of Hindusthan. Misree, whose graceful gestures would not hurt the practiced eye of Parisot, will lead the fairy dance on the boards of Joy Kishun Roy's happy dwelling. At Raja Raj Krishna's may be viewed with amazement and pleasure, the wonderful artifices and tricks of legerdemain of an accomplished set of jugglers, first arrived from Lucknow.

“Baboo Gopee Mohun Deb, urged by his usual anxiety to contribute to the amusement of the public, has, besides a selection of the most accomplished nautch girls, engaged a singularly good buffoon, whose performances and those of a boy, who has the uncommon faculty of being able to dance with impunity on the naked edge of two sharp swords, make claim title of unique. Besides these, the respective residences, of Baboo Gopee Mohun Thakoor and  Gooroo Pershad Bhose have each its individual cause of attraction and promise to repay by a full measure of delight those who are content to forsake the calm repose of peaceful slumbers for the hum on men and squeeze of crowded assemblies".

The description of how decadence had set in and how dancing girls were the greater attraction, not Maa Durga, is clear from this description. The decades that followed in the 19^th century were also remarkable for reformers like Ram Mohun demanding reforms in Hinduism and radicals like  Derozio agitatating his students of Hindu (Presidency) College to revolt against such degeneration. This is when genuine  introspection of their religion had gripped many educated Bengali Hindus, who had started public debates. These would ultimately lead to several socio-religious reforms and to the banning of  heinous practices, like infanticide and the burning of the widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. But where the nouveau riche Bengali ‘babu’ was concerned, he appeared more interested in establishing his superiority over his rivals in the battle of ostentatious entertainment.

Another description of the festivities that appeared on the 12^th October, 1826, in the ‘Hurkaru’ reads  as follows:

"The splendid mansion of Baboo Gopee Mohun Deb, during the annual festival of Doorga Pooja, is the Theatre of many a novel spectacle; his hospitality is surpassed by none, and he seldom spares any expense in providing for the gratification of his guests. On Monday evening last he entertained a very large company of Ladies and Gentlemen of distinction. Among the amusements provided for the occasion, was a dance by some Burmese females. The group was composed of eight blooming girls all in their teens, direct from the Empire of the Golden Foot; and they tripped it (we won't say on the light fantastic toe) but with a degree of grace and agility seldom equalled by the fair of Hindostan; the dancing was accompanied by a song and the chorus which seemed intelligible to none but themselves."

The ‘Friend of India’ reported that some seven thousand images of the goddess were made for the Puja in 1839 in Calcutta and about twenty five Lakh rupees were spent. Rich individuals, however, continued their display of opulence. An advertisement that appeared on September 20, 1827, in the Calcutta Gazette will bear ample testimony:

“GRAND NAUTCHES

Doorga Pooja Holidays BABOO PRANKISSEN HOLDAR of Chinsurah

Begs to inform the Ladies and Gentlemen, and the Public in General, that he has commenced giving a Grand Nautch from this day, that it will continue till the 29th Instant. Those Ladies and Gentlemen who have receive Invitation Cards, are respectfully solicited to favour him with their Company on the    days mentioned above; and those to whom the Invitation Tickets have not been sent (strangers to the Baboo) are also respectfully solicited to favour him with their  Company.

"Baboo Prankissen Holdar further begs to say, that every attention and respect will be paid to the Ladies and Gentlemen who will favour him with their Company, and that he will be happy to furnish then with Tiffin, Dinner, Wines,&c., during their stay there.

PRANKISSEN HOLDER

Chinsurah,

September14, 1827".

Ironically enough, this Pran Kissen Holder was to be convicted for forgery and sentenced for seven years, hardly a couple of years after this announcement. His property was also put up for auction and it reminds us that times may have changed but neither has human habit nor has fate.

But how did the Sahibs take it all this showering of hospitality and the invitations to pagan festivals, so full of wine and women? We have accounts of most of them making best use of the hospitality offered, even though many loathed the entire celebration. And editorial piece that appeared on fifth of October,  1829,  in  the  ‘Calcutta  Gazette’  will  make  the  attitude of better-placed Englishman clear:

"These festivals caused enormous sums and the numbers who attend them are generally vary great; but of late years a falling off has been observed in both respects — a degree of lukewarmness in short, whence it is inferred that the better educated classes of Natives no longer entertain the same sentiments on the subject as were formerly prevalent. Once in a way on the principle of seeing everything that is to be seen in a foreign country, an European may derive amusement from a Nautch — but on the whole it is, at best, but an insipid and monotonous exhibition."

The Puja Holidays had also come to be accepted as a way of life among the Company's servants in Bengal, as an escape from the monotonous grind of daily routine. Mr. J.H. Stocqueler, founder editor of ‘The Englishman’ (later to become ‘The Statesman’) wrote about his experiences in Bengal in the 1830s and 1840s. Let us glance at an extract from his "Social Life in Calcutta":

"But what are termed Doorga Pooja holidays, which usually commence about the middle of September and last eight or ten days, from the period of time which admits extended excursions of almost  all classes of men of business from the metropolis, and there is much deadness then in Calcutta as there in London at or near the same time of the year. The Hindoo natives lay aside all kind of business, save what daily necessity renders it indispensable to pursue, and shops and offices are shut up, or their trading hum and bustle all but stagnated, while that great religious ceremonial is in course of being observed.

"Then the European merchant, the clerk, the official, the lawyer, the shopkeeper and artisan, all absent themselves, some for several days and some for a few weeks, in the certainty that competition cannot be active while they are gone, and that the general stagnation is such that little could be profited by their remaining at their business. Pinnaces and budgerows (bajras or luxury boasts) are then hired for trips into the Mofussil, and the exploring citizen, who gets the hundred miles inland, fills from that our at liberty to relate, when he revisits England, that he has travelled into the interior of India and surveyed men and manners in the ruralities of our empire".

But whatever be the attitude of the Englishmen, the Bengali  babu was having a field day. With increasing acceptance of  Community Pujas came the privilege of raising subscriptions from the public at large — a power that was often misused, just as it is done nowadays. The ‘Calcutta Courier’ of 1840 reports:

“In consequence of the oppressive extortions of money by some young men belonging to a famous family of Bihala, of Zillah 24-Parganas, under the pretext of meeting the expenses of a Barrowarry Poojah, it was impossible for anybody, especially females, to pass that road in a conveyance  without satisfying their unjust and illegal demands. When they happened to see a woman coming in a palanqueen, they immediately stopped it  and if a handsome present was not offered, a volley of abuse was heaped on the poor creature. As women, from a sense of decency and decorum, were unable to resist these demands, they were sometimes compelled to give their clothes and ornaments when they had no money about them".

We see, therefore, that extortion of money is an old tradition and existed even two centuries ago. As British rule in India was soon converted from a colony under the East India Company to an ‘empire’ under Queen Victoria, exhibitionism by unscrupulous babus went up for a few decades but ultimately Durga Puja became the collective show of the whole community, not just some rich families. It is, therefore,   Interesting to recall how the Hindu manners and customs as practiced then in Bengal were viewed by foreigners with a curious mix of discovery, wonder, repulsion, acceptance and adaptation.