Rita Farhat Mukand

On the evening of October 11, as I walked down the glowing street of Uzan Bazar in Guwahati, I could catch glimpses of the River Brahmaputra glinting gold-red sparkles in the evening sun, flowing alongside in the northern part of the city with the distant drums of the Dussehra ecstasy beating in the background.

A sense of joy and calm enveloped me as I recalled my conversation with Himashri Mohanta, a bright young Assamese university teacher. While we sipped coffee just a few days before the Dussehra Puja, she said, “Durga Puja celebrates female shakti (energy), the Goddess Durga. She is the first feminist in the world, men needed her, but she did not need any man, she was complete in herself.”

I am not a Hindu nor have I ever been into a pandal; as I walked past a pandal that resembled a golden palace, elaborately decorated with intricate patterns shimmering in hues of lights, I felt the urge to walk in and Marlyn my Naga friend felt the same. We waded our way past the madding crowds of thousands. The ground was slushy from the recent rains but this did not deter us.

Standing in a queue, we finally got a chance to get inside the glamorous pandal. I stood inside soaking in the thick atmosphere of prayers, chants, and the aroma of incense smoke curling in the air while hundreds of tiny golden fires flickered in their oil-clay diyas. Durga’s statue towered over everything emanating a spirit of energy and life along with that impending sense of destruction with her dominating aura overpowering the air.

The Durga Puja Pandal

The atmosphere was electrifying with the chants of the priests, while throngs of people entered the pandal offering money and gifts to the goddess. I stared in fascination at the scenes.

The story of Durga was depicted in carved backdrops and paintings. Watching the story unfold before me in pictures, I recalled how Himashri explained it to me a few days ago:  Mahishasura, was a powerful asura and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. One day, Lord Vishnu told him, “Ask me for anything you want, I will grant it.”

Unlike Rishis who are pure, want nothing for themselves, and only desire good for others, asuras can be selfish and greedy and want the best only for themselves and justify everything by saying, “Nothing is bad if your intention is pure.” Out of his male ego, Mahishasura said, I want the greatest power such that no man can kill me.”

Vishnu granted him his wish and soon, he started creating havoc on Earth and Heaven and mass destruction. The demigods were worried, and got together, wondering how they would stop Mahishasura. They came upon a plan and with their divine energy collected a new higher power. It turned out this higher power they concocted together was very bright, beautiful, and radiant, and in its form was feminine energy - Durga. She was created to destroy; she was raging, wild, untamable, and furious.

Her main mission was to kill Mahishasura. Durga defeated Mahishasura in a fierce battle that lasted nine days and nights. Mahishasura, who could change forms between a buffalo and a man, initially fought as a buffalo. Durga, riding her lion, faced him bravely.

Using her divine weapons, gifted to her by the gods, she fought tirelessly. On the tenth day, she finally overcame him by transforming into a powerful form and piercing him with her trident as he took his buffalo form. As he lay defeated, Mahishasura tried to take human form but Durga swiftly struck him down, symbolizing the victory of good over evil.

Bidding farewell - the Durga idol being taken for immersion

This triumph is celebrated during the festival of Durga Puja. She manifests nine forms of feminine energy during Navratri. On the ninth day, her idol is immersed in the Brahmaputra because it merges with the Ganga River symbolic of her return to the divine cosmos and her marital home with Shiva in Kailash.

Lost in wonder as I visualized these scenes, the girls and attendees in the pandal told me, “Please move ahead; others are waiting..., just take one picture, no need to take more!” I could hear the priest chanting something and I tried to stay a little longer but the crowds were pressing us to move on. I noticed the pandal was made from silken cloths, thick cardboard covered with gold paper, and wood.

On the streets outside that night, Durga Puja in Guwahati was being celebrated in zeal with the rhythm of drums, chanting, and music. Nearly every street had a pandal, along with the rituals performed, puja, bhog, and aarti. I could see mela, dance performances, open-air singing, and even art exhibitions as people were out in the cool evening. The city was awake the whole night with lights glittering over the hills at Silpukhuri.

The next morning, on October 12th, crowds packed in trucks, thousands of faces walked on the streets, smeared with bright red Holi powder, garbed in dazzling fine silks and new clothes, and the air was charged with exhilaration. This was the day in Assam - the highlight of the festival when the clay statues of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya would be immersed in the Brahmaputra River, and the crowds would be so dense that it would be impossible even to get an edgeway to see the scenes unless you are safely somewhere close by.

I did feel that vibrant atmosphere of faith and unity where people from all parts of Guwahati got together and families and friends were celebrating beautiful times, exchanging gifts, sharing meals, and worshipping in oneness. From the seventh to the tenth day of the lunar month of Ashwin, Durga Puja is commemorated with great enthusiasm and fervour.

A closeup of Durga Idol

As I walked out of the pandal, I reflected on how Indians celebrate Durga Puja so exuberantly, yet at the same time, many people have forgotten the essence of Durga. Over the ages, women have gone through different stages of being bound by the chains of masculine superiority. Inequality was never created by the Creator but the world is submerged with disparity between men and women.

While the world needs a North Pole and a South Pole, likewise male energy and female energy should entwine to complement each other, not pull one another down. This is depicted in the story of Durga, who rose to protect and destroy evil.

With this story, I sensed there should be a new vibration of respect and reverence for both poles, male and female yet at this juncture in Durga, the female energy ascended to a form that went to a higher dimension even above the demigods. Hindus affirm that they are the only religion in the world that validates the feminine divinity - Shakti.

In Durga, a woman becomes the epitome of self-confidence, strength, power, might, and female energy that is vital for creation, destruction, and nurturing. She is all-in-one, powerful, embodying strength, courage, and righteousness. Armed with weapons, she is a fierce Goddess.

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I feel rejuvenated in this Durga Puja by the timeless message of Durga that the female energy is empowered, overpowering, and complete in herself. Even in the Bible and the Quran (known as Hawwa) she was created for a man; Durga is there because men needed her. Also, as per the Hindu concept, the divine behind the creation is not all male; the Shakti or energy infuses life in the creation and hence the two are complementary. It is time for a “Durga” awakening in every woman to recreate herself into an impactful dynamo of energy and self-realization.

Rita Farhat Mukand is an independent writer and author.