Himadri
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Sarbajaneen Puja committees of Karimganj/Shillong
«on:
11/06/01 at 13:15:07 » |
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Nice little write-ups on the history of Sarbajaneen Puja in Karimganj and Shillong, two of the old Sylheti bastions.These appeared in the Sentinel recently.I am sure that folks from Karimganj and Shillong will have fond memories of these Puja commitees.Couldn't get one on Silchar.
Karimganj:
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Like all other places the Durga Puja scenario in Karimganj has been going through many changes since the beginning of the second half of the last century. In pre-independence days the pujas were mainly a domestic affair and was celebrated individually by the members of the landed aristocracy. During that time the society of the small township of Karimganj was a cohesive one and hence the household Durga Pujas were enough to satisfy the festive mood of the people.
However during the first two decades following the independence the demographic condition of the locality had undergone a qualitative change and increase of the population created a situation where the emerging middle class wanted a more direct participation in the puja celebrations. This gave an impetus to the organization of Sarbajanin Durga Pujas which started in the year 1957 with the formation of a 21-member Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee. During the late sixties Royal Star (1968 ) and Sreemanta Mandap started celebrating Durga Puja followed by Kushiarkul, Madhya Karimganj, Agragami, Jayantika, Sangharshee, Brightstar, Shatavisa, Youth Unity, Subhashnagar Puja Committee, etc in the seventies. Nowadays these Sarbajanin Durga Pujas actually dominate the festivities of the autumnal worship of the Goddess Durga.
Agragami Club, which is celebrating its silver jubilee of the Durga Puja festival with a budget of Rs 6 lakh, the highest in Karimganj, has not planned anything special this year except Tasa Badya programme which would be performed by a West Bengal-based team. However, the general secretary of the club puja committee said other programmes like community feast for four days, which is attended by 4,000 people each day and distribution of garments to about 400 poor persons would be continued. This puja, managed mainly by the business community is famous for its decorative lighting.
Madhya Karimganj Durga Puja Committee, which is also celebrating its silver jubilee this year with a budget of about Rs 2 lakh has been able to maintain its popularity due to its cultural programme during the puja which include Jatra (open air theatre), Bihari folk song, Mridanga performance by Bishnupriya Manipuri team. Besides, the committee arranges community feast, usually attended by about 5,000 persons in three days. This puja committee has so far donated an oxygen cylinder, some ceiling fans and beds to the Karimganj Red Cross Hospital. According to the general secretary of the committee, while the usual programmes would be continued no special programmes could be introduced due to financial problem except jatra to be performed by a West Bengal-based troupe since there are no such troupes now in the Barak Valley region.
Royal Star Club is also not planning to take up any new programme due to financial stringency owing to the poor economic condition of the locality.
The pioneer of Sarbajanin Durga Puja is Sarbaneer Durga Puja Committee and Shatavisha, an old puja committee may not be able to arrange Durga Puja this year.
Shillong:
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The city of Shillong is host to over 52 pujas. The Durga Puja festival in Shillong dates back to more than a century ago.
Some of the major pujas in Shillong in modern times are Rilbong Puja celebrations, Jail Road Puja celebrations, Umpling, Kench’s Trace, Garikhana to name a few.
But, the biggest of all the pujas this year is the Rilbong Puja, which is celebrating its platinum jubilee. Seventy-five years of rich history, tradition and balanced growth is what the Durga Puja of Rilbong is all about. Though the puja is yet to start, the month-long calender of events was kicked off on September 17 by the Meghalaya Chief Minister E K Mawlong.
"Seventy-five years of uninterrupted existence by any organization is not only an achievement, but the feeling of a great job done fills our mind," said a senior member of the committee about the Rilbong celebrations.
The Rilbong locality as one sees it today is a densely populated area with hundreds of houses, business complexes and a two-storey building adjacent a field – the Rilbong puja committee.
Almost 80 years ago, during the British regime, Rilbong was born amidst the salubrious surroundings. Thirty seven families of different religious faiths settled here and interestingly these families settled here. The people, who were the pioneers of this great locality were officials of Central and Provincial Governments.
These settlers, in spite of extreme financial constraints built their houses with government loan and supported the government in laying out roads and lanes, built bridges over the Umshyrpi river, undertook the task of getting water connections, etc.
By early 1927, the houses were ready and the locality came to life. Today, eight decades later, Rilbong is a bustling locality.
It was due to the tireless efforts of the pioneers of Rilbong that they formed the Rilbong Sanatan Hindu Dharma Sabha in 1927, and under its aegis, the first Durga Puja was performed in the residence of Brajendra Kumar Bhattacharjee, one of the first settlers of the locality.
In 1928 the government provided a plot of land to the Dharma Sabha for the puja. For the next six years, the festival was held in an open area. The Dharma Sabha members then realized the need to construct puja mandap. This was completed in 1934, and since then, Rilbong Sanatan Hindu Dharma Sabha started expanding.
But, Rilbong Puja is not about celebrations alone. The initial settlers realized that conducting the annual Durga Puja was not enough. They strongly believed that in order to have a vibrant community, a lot of other things needed to be done. Thus they set up a school, a co-operative store, a public library and a playground for sports and games for the children. Of late, an ambulance and a mortuary van has also been introduced for serving the society.
Going down memory lane, the Rilbong Primary School was set up in 1928 and a high school in 1970. These schools have been catering to the needs of the children not only from the locality but from neighbouring areas.
Rilbong Co-operative Store was also set up in 1928. Once upon a time the co-operative store was the only shop in the entire locality, and it even earned the distinction of being one of the best-managed stores in the composite State of Assam.
A public library came into existence on April 30, 1947. "Netaji Pathaghar," as it was christened was inaugurated by Mukunda Lal Sarkar, a hard-core follower of Netaji. Interestingly, the library was originally founded by students of Rilbong in the early 30’s under the name "Mouchak" with a considerable number of great English and French novels translated into Bengali.
Rilbong Sports and Cultural Club has been holding competitions in outdoor and indoor games, drama, dance and a food festival – where extraordinary culinary skills have often been displayed, tasted and never forgotten.
Rilbong and Kench’s Trace Welfare Association, established in 1949, looks after welfare of the people, and addresses their grievances and problems.
This year as the platinum jubilee celebrations are already underway, the pujas are likely to be Shillong’s best. Everybody is trying their best to make the platinum jubilee a success.
"For us Basudaiva Kutumbakam meaning ‘world is our family’ is the buzz-word and we have been following this philosophy for the last 75 years," said Ardhendu Choudhury, general secretary of the celebrations.
"We feel a great job has been done, yet, more remains to be achieved. Many people, known and unknown have made their contributions, we convey our gratitude to them and hope their help will be forthcoming in the future as well," said Manas Choudhuri, the working president.
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