Mahalaya marks the beginning of Durga Puja in Bengal and everywhere. The mood and festivity takes to the centerstage, as it is regarded as the world’s biggest festival with celebration of different kinds. As the myth goes Maa Durga comes to this prithivi to visit her parents and near and dear ones, to ward off all pains from ones lives and therefore the celebration and worship of Devi Durga is done with utmost care and protection, as she is regarded as the daughter of the family.
The minute details and the care and concern of people who re group together to organise the biggest carnival in the true sense of term. The care, passion and zeal with which every individual intricately carves and ornately designed, all possible care and precautions are taken for her while she is carried to pandals and localities. She is covered with papers and plastics so that not a speck of dust or a drop of rain blemishes her beauty.
She is well decorated with lovely flowers, gold ornaments and glitzy crown, all this is done to show our love and respect towards her. Everyone wants to contribute their bit to make her happy and to seek her blessings. She is worshipped both literally and figuratively by all.
Unfortunately, same treatment isn’t extended to the living beings of the same gender, we see around us in most cases. The women we come across everyday are not celebrated with such pomp and glory for their innumerable selfless sacrifice for the sake of their family or society. She is not revered or cherished as much as she deserves to be. Rates of crimes and atrocities against women are rising day by day at a time when everyone speaks of respecting the gender, devi or Shakti is no doubt the reflection of our hypocracy.
Why are these two women, Maa Durga and many unknown unsung girls, mothers, sisters of our society are treated differently? Is it because one of them is a Godly figure who is surrounded with many mythological stories and the other remains a silent obersver. Is it because one comes to our life just for few days of a year and her arrival brings with her celebration and festivity all along for us, while the daily being whom we see everyday and therefore isn’t so enthralling? If the answers to these questions are “Yes”, (they most likely are) then we are certainly not on a right track, as a rational or so called civilisation and is certainly a blot to the society we live in.
Alas!! We live in a society where Goddesses are worshipped while female foeticide are trecerously uprooted from the mothers womb to find a place, somewhere in a dusteen outside. The society must not remain or play this hypocricy making a mockery of the real essence of worshiping devi durga.
