Beautiful Bengal------- Memories of my Bankura Trip.

In my opinion rituals are like distortions that occur as an outcome of Chinese Whisper. Usually remote facts about a heroic personality accumulate to form a legend, which in turn gets associated with religion to form a myth and the myth becomes a custom through practice of some rituals.

Such is the ritual of worshiping ‘Kola Bou’ during Durga Puja. The scriptures say, since Lord Ram could not prepare an idol of Goddess Durga, he symbolized the trunk of a banana tree, adorned with nine different types of leaves, as her almighty and worshipped to invocate her, in order to gain victory over Ravan. But according to the local myth, Kola Bou was a spy sent by Lord Shiva, to accompany Maa Durga to her matrimonial house and keep a close watch on her. In any case she is very important and it has become a custom to immerse her with the idol of Maa Durga after Dashami Puja.

Last year, we went out for a trip to Bakura on the brink of the Bijoya Dashami dawn. We crossed the districts of Howrah, Hoogly and Burdwan to reach Bankura. In essays on our country’s national integrity, we usually discuss the cultural diversity found among the various states of India. But this trip brought me to the realization that variety is not only found among the different states, but each district, especially those in Bengal, bears its own ethnic heritage.  

    

And we noticed this as soon as we entered Bankura around 11A.M. As I told you we

started our journey on Bijoya Dashami, the day on which the idol of Maa Durga is immersed in some lake or river. But we were astounded to find that; here the Kola Bou was given more importance than the Goddess, herself. The former was carried in a palanquin escorted by four hands- men who were holding the palanquin with one hand and a sword with the other. The Kola Bou was wrapped in a sari varying from cotton, printed to expensive silk (Baluchuri), ------ depending on the budget of the Puja. In some cases we also saw that the palanquin along with the bearers was given shade by a huge umbrella, and the umbrella bearer had to match his speed with the four palanquin bearers. This symphony of actions was teemed up by a procession of women carrying pots full of water, children and other men who participated in the ceremony. Barefooted, all of them went to the near by river to immerse the Kola Bou. 

But, to our utter disbelief the idol of Maa Durga along with her children was left in the pandal. On asking, a local person said that the spirit of Maa Durga existed in the Kola Bou and the idol was built only as a manifestation of belief. For this reason the Kola Bou was immersed where as the idol is left to be weathered. The same structure that had been used this year would be used in the next year and the year next to that.

            We were not just surprised but impressed by this environment friendly custom. In most of the cases age old rituals become painstaking and hassle some as they are handed over from one generation to another. But this particular ritual not only saves transport charges of carrying the idol to the water body but also prevents silt formation on the river beds.

Later, that day, when we saw the terracotta tile with “Beautiful Bengal” inscribed on it, at the reception table of the Bishnupur tourist lodge, we unanimously said, “No Wonder! Our Bengal is beautiful.” But one question keeps on lingering at the back of my mind ----- is this beauty only found in suburbs and not in cities?