Thread by @raniroyrocky

100 days to go for Mahalaya Amavashya 2018. end of Pitripaksha and the auspicious begining of Devipaksha. Prabhi Shree Ram invoked Maa Durga on Mahalaya just before his journey to Lanka to rescue SitaMata.

#Mahalaya2018
it is also called Akal Bodhon (worship before Time). It is said the King Surath worshipped Maa Durga during the spring, but Prabhu Shree Ram invoked her in Autumn. Mahalaya marks the awakening of Maa Durga.

#Mahalaya2018
My story is not about how & why Prabhu Sree Ram invoked Maa Durga. But to give u a glimpse of d making of Maa Durga Pratima in Kumortuli, d place in Kolkata where her pratimas come to life & witness to our prayers, tears, smiles, aspirations, appreciation & bonding.

#Kumortuli
the traditional ways of making Maa’s Pratima is gathering straw, bamboo, clay, cow urine, cow dung and ‘punya mati’. Straw & Bamboo are collected from nearby Baghbazar market. Clay is brought from the banks of Ganga, then mixed with cow urine & cow dung.

‘punya mati’ is then mixed to the clay. but what is ‘Punya Mati’? it is the soil from Nishiddho Palli (forbidden territories). without it the Pratima making is incomplete. But do you know why?

it is said that “before the fatal fight between Maa Durga & Mahishasur, the latter tried to malign her diginity & attempted molestation. Angered by this disgrace, Durga Maa used all her power and rage to destroy Mahishasur, who looked down upon women.

For this reason, it is believed that using of soil from outside a brothel should be treated as a respect to those women, who have been downtrodden and humiliated by society”.

they say that the ‘Patitas’ have chosen the life of sin for whatever reason, so, when they handover the ‘Punya Mati’ amid vedic mantras, their sins get purified, souls get unburdened. Also, as 'Patitas' are an abandoned section of society all their lives, +

this one occasion sees them coming under one umbrella as devotees of Maa and are included in the society. During this time, they are well-treated and welcomed to all pandals; unlike rest of the year, when they are ill-treated by the same society.

the Purohits/kumors (nowadays) seek mud from the Nishiddho Palli. it is said even if she denies the Purohits have to beg for the soil while chanting the mantras. this procedure of seeking the mud is both holy and dramatic.

In Kolkata’s Kumortuli the procedure of seeking mud and collecting other raw materials for making the Pratima has already started. 100 more days to go for 8th October. Maa will descend to the earth along with her children, we Bengalis look forward for this occasion the whole year