 |
| The Pandal - the four-day abode of Mother Durga and her siblings |
 |
| Taj Mahal in the street |
 |
| Harry Potter's Wizardy School |
 |
| A temple and a peep at the idols from a distance |
 |
| Looks like an ancient temple but it's a 4-day make shift art work |
 |
| All roads lead to Mohammad Ali park - a popular north-Kolkata puja |
 |
| The giant Ox-head symbolising the Devil Mahisasura |
 |
| An enchanting but painstakingly made interior of a pandal-I |
 |
| An enchanting but painstakingly made interior of a pandal-II |
 |
| A Buddhist Monastery - the home for Hindu Goddess |
 |
| The famous art of Dhunuchi Dance - a fire dance before the idols in a dancing style (with the beats of Dhak and Kasor - not in the picture) |
 |
| An usual late evening cultural show |
 |
| Puja offerings - fruits are cut into pieces |
 |
| A classical dance show in the evening - part of Puja entertainment for free |
 |
| Audience at a cultural evening |
 |
| Devotees just not always inside the pandal to show reverence to Goddess but also to admire the work of art scattered everywhere - someone picking up snap for posterity. |
 |
| The pandal-hoppers at rush hours in night |
 |
| Idols are ferried by porters into the transport van |
 |
| The potters colony and the idols in the making |
 |
| The two dhaki( drummers) and a kashor-player at the centre playing in front of a pandal gate. |
 |
| Eyes are getting painted by the potters |
I don’t know why the Writers and the Publishers galore
and they become one of the focal points in the gala Durga Puja festival spread over five days of beautiful Autumn! I also fail to find logic why atheists in
hordes come down to see the Mother power and stealthily offer a silent quick
prayer.
The
Mother Goddess and her siblings, folklore descend from Himalayas, stay in
mythic paternal home amidst the glitter of fantastic newly worn street
lightings; loudspeakers at every street corner blare popular songs; and the
food stalls with new enthusiast teenage sellers out to earn a few quick bucks and
a goodwill for well cooked popular hot jhal Alu-doom with accompanying Luchi
, Ghugni served in sal leave, or Biriyani with Kasha-Mansa.
Organiser’s booth just always adjacent to the mandap and the occupiers busy in
talks as they keep a watch on the crowd that is moving and turn into a sea as
midnight approaches. A few moving toy pheriwalas – the foot hawkers – one of them sending out intermittent
queer sound by squeezing the skins of full
blown balloons and an equally teasing shrill low voice call like a shark’s “b
aaaaaaaa looooon” and a noiseless pause and again on a little higher B
pitch“bbbbbbbbloonn”. Parents having a trying time to manage parse (somewhat
full with Puja Bonuses) amidst so much provocations around to lose money,
letting the kids forget hygiene and indulge in the forbidden greed of a foodie
that Bengalis are known for. The city of six millions come down on the streets and
move from one pandal to another – admire the crafts of artisans who silently
worked for three months to a week( depending on Puja Budget) and put up
unbelievable show of great art – Themes pandals..
While
thousands of artisans across toil to put up fantasy Taj Mahal, a Gwalior Fort
or a Dakhineshwar Kali temple, another hundreds and their family of clay
artists, give up daily routines to complete the earthen idols. Organizers come
down on the eleventh hour with big trucks and tens of helpers and hordes of
cheer leaders to pick up the holy idols, now complete with color, ornaments and
wearing and weapons.
While
the land of kash phools blooms – the flowers announce the arrival of Sarat kal
– the Autumn as the drummers:Dhaki and accompanying Kasor cross miles and hit
the city streets and organizers gather
for a demo and picking up the best at a bargain. Dhang Kur Kur ! Dhang Kur Kur!
The beats of the drums and book lovers spread across the globe eagerly put the
slippers on for enquiring the arrival of Puja Collections – some call it
Sarodiya Collection hinting its arrival with beautiful Autumn nature in its
splendour in rural Bengal. Late poet
Jibanananda Das’s immortal lines – If I ever return, I wish to live here again
in the rural Bengal….that’s the theme so dear
to all writers who are rooted to their earth.
As
the Mahishasurmardini day – the beginning of Pitri Tarpan -revivrates with the
ancient Sanskrit slokas of “Yea Devi Sakti rupeno Sansthita Namastashay
Namastashay Namastashay Namay NomoHo” ,
the writers smile , the publishers smile and the editors go on a long sleep and
a vacation - the months of maddening follow up, keeping up with deadlines of
first proof, the editor’s scissor cuts, and tackling the request from hundreds
of fans who want to be author as well.
In this madness of joy and euphoria, here I present a thorough net-searched few facts about
publications - that hit the stand a few days before the Puja and each family
decide for a choice of Puja Publication.These are my Puja Freebies to WritersOwnHome members. A puja that all communities and all religions participate so spontaneously while the book stalls spring up - some set up by the Communists ( 150 stalls in Kolkata alone) who dont believe in the existence of God and yet again stalls set up by the religious sects like Bharat Sevashrarm, Ramakrishna Mission et cetra who draw religious inspiration from Shakti puja and mother Goddess. Wish you all my sincere wish for a happy and prosperious Durga Puja festival.
First, some of
the Bengali Online Magazines, many of whose Puja Special Issues one can read online and it is FREE!Some are Bi-lingual and can be enjoyed by a wider audience.Writers Golden Door is Open Here.Write a good article - a short story, a poem , an essay or even a novel. These are stepping stone of getting networked with writers, publishers.
http://www.parabaas.com/ [ one of the oldest mag ]
www.maadhukari.com/ [ bi-monthly ]
www.papyrus.sonartoree.com
http://sonartoree.blogspot.in/ [ interesting cover ]
http://www.kalimatirjhurogalpo.blogspot.in/
[ Jamshedpur old mag now hugely popular]
http://www.sonajhuri.com
http://www.kobitaogaan.com
http://www.shatorupa.com/
http://home.bascweb.org/ [ English – A Puja Organising Committeee in USA]
http://www.batj.org/Anjali.htm
[ Yearly Tokyo Puja Magazine in Bengali, English, Hindi, Japanese by Puja Organising Association]
http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com [ Online Mag Section ]
http://www.syandanpatrika.com/ [ Agartala.]
http://in.asmania.org/
http://calcuttans.com/palki/ [ Bengali-English bilingual ]
http://www.ichchhamoti.org/ [ Children’s ]
http://coffeehouseradda.in/
http://diyala.kochiknacha.com/ [ Children’s ]
http://krishnokolee.blogspot.in/
http://www.bengalisinhyderabad.com/kolaj.htm [ Kolaj - Hyderabad's first Bengali magazine ]
http://www.kolkatabengalinfo.com/2012/04/chhelebela-bengali-magazine-online.html [ Chelebela - Online Subscription ]
http://tofudi.com/read/MTI4Njc3NA==/ [ mag KheyaTori ]
http://bengaliatbhopal.blogspot.in/2011/07/joydhak-online-bengali-magazine.html [Joydhak mag ]
www.kaurab.com[ a trend setter and huge fan following ]
www.kallol.com/ [ popular ]
www.banglabiswa.org/doc/BOB-Magazine.pdf [ United States ]
http://www.freewebs.com/khananer_ayojan/
www.littlemag.com/ghosts/antaradevsen5.html
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/puja-sonkhya/
http://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/adver/108702about-anustup.html [anustup mag ]
http://www.kobitaarkalimati.blogspot.in/ [ jamshedpur ]
www.boimela.in/ [ online Card payment]
www.boipara.com [ online booking ]
And the last but not the least - Ogrobeej [ A multi-continental hugely popular subscription based Bengali publication ]
Kolkata Book Fair Little Magazines List 2012 - many of them bring out Durga Puja Special issues. Here is the list.
Here are some of the Bengali hugely popular big scale
magazines busy with Puja Editions - A devotee thinks the puja incomplete without managing to get at least one publication at home.
Anandabazar
Anandomela
( Children’s)
Desh
Suktara
( Children’s)
Prasad
Nobokallol
Nonte-Phonte(
Children’s)
Sananda
Also can check
A few words about the various little magazines and not so little magazines who are still sticking out their head to announce - We Are Not Dead. Here is a small peek into the world that often is known through words of mouth than big time ads. [ The reference of the details below is from wikipedia ]
# Kabita Campus, New Poetry has begun to gain immense acclaim from the young contemporary poets of Bengal. In 2003 some poets of this genre have started a journal named Natun Kabita . Another new age poetry magazine in the same sphere is Boikhoribhashya..
# Little Magazine Library and Research Centre at Tamer Lane, Kolkata - keep record of any Little Magazine published around the world in Bengali. The publisher has to submit there a copy.
A few other prominent LMs are :-
Meghjanmo, Sanjhbati, Lalon, Joydhak, Nabamanab, Bodhshabdo, VAPRA, Pratishedhak,Abosardanga, Ashtray, Somoyer Shobdo,"ebRo khebRo rong", "resurrection", "duende" and Aahir were prominent in the first decade of millennium..
Also know about the following:-
§
Aadorer Nauka-Bengali little magazine
§
Baundule-Bengali little magazine
§
Aikya-Quarterly Bengali Literary and Cultural Magazine
§
Amritalok-An influential
Bengali Literary and Cultural Magazine, Station Road,P.O.-Midnapore 721101 West
Bengal
- Crimson Feet Magazine - Bimonthly journal for writers and poets
from the Indian sub-continent.
- Duende - Bengali little
magazine.
- Ebro Khebro Rong - Bengali little magazine.
- Guruchandali - Bengali e-zine
- Graffiti - A Bengali little
magazine that repeatedly promoted hungrialist movement & literature as
well as postmodern literary movement, Graffiti has contributed a remarkable part
of it in the field of translation & transcreation literature.
- Haowa 49 - Quarterly Bengali Magazine of changing poetry and
literary theories.
- Joydhak - Quarterly Bengali
Magazine for children- www.joydhak.com
§
Kaurab -
Perhaps the most influential of the contemporary Bengali little magazines with
both online and print editions. www.kaurab.com
§
Kledaja Kusum - an exceptional
poetry magazine of West Bengal,10/1 S.B.Roychowdhury Rd.
Nimta.Kolkata-700049.-www.kledajakusum.in
§
Kavya Bharati - An
annual journal, The Study Centre for Indian Literature in English and
Translation .- www.scilet.in
- Kritya- A bilingual journal of international poetry.-
www.kritya.in
- Maadhukari - Online Bengali
literary magazine
- Natun Kabita - The Bengali little
magazine promoting the 'Notun Kobita' or new poetry movement, newest
literay movement in Bengali
- Nabamanab - Bi-monthly Bengali
little magazine edited by Enamul
Kabir.
- Abosardanga - A contemporary
Bengali Little magazine gaining immense popularity
- Parabaas - a Bengali literary
e-zine
- Patrika - Online Bengali
literary magazine
- Pratishedhak - A new little magazine run by a young group of new-age
writers in Kolkata
- Purwai - London-based quarterly magazine on Indian languages
- Somoyer Shobdo - Kolkata-based Bengali little magazine dedicated to
fostering new talents. Edited by Argha Roy and Kumaraditya Sarkar
- The Brown Critique - Literary quarterly
for Indian writings in English.
- The Journal of The Poetry Society (India
)
- The Little Magazine - English literary
magazine
- Ultodurbin - Tetra-monthly Bengali little magazine from Kolkata, India.
- Utsab - Bengali literary magazine
- Kledaja kusum - Quarterly Bengali
poetry magazine.http://www.kledajakusum.in
- Vapra - Bengali little
magazine....
- Resurrection - Bengali little
magazine....
- Purba (ISSN 2229 6344) - a
literary and cultural magagine, started publishing from 2005 from
Medinipur of west Bengal
- Jachhetai-Bengali
little magazine.Chinsurah.9339649976,9051329312
- The
Postcard—Bengali little magazine
Quarterly Bangladesh
Keep Reading , Keep Thinking, Keep Writing, Keep Reviewing Others' Writing. :))
Copy right @Siddharth M 2012
