HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Nov 1: The Shantipara Second Lane Kali Puja is one of the prominent Kali Pujas in Dibrugarh. This year, they have chosen ‘Swastik’ as their theme.
With all traditional rituals, the Kali Puja was performed at the puja pandal on Thursday night.
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“We started the Kali Puja in 2007, and since then, we have been observing it traditionally. This year, our theme is based on the ‘Swastik’. It is one of the popular Pujas in the Shantipara area, and every year, devotees gather here during the puja,” said Jeet Roy, one of the organisers.
He added, “Since 2007, we have been organising the Kali Puja here, and people have appreciated our themes.”
“This time, we have sponsorship from Italica Tiles, and on November 2, we will organise a cultural program with Dibrugarh Municipal mayor Dr Saikat Patra and deputy mayor Ujjal Phukan as guests,” he said.
Around 150 participants from various groups will perform at the cultural event on Saturday at the puja pandal.
Our Demow correspondent adds: Kali Puja celebrations began in Demow and its surrounding areas on Thursday. The idols of Goddess Kali were brought to the pandals of Demow on Thursday morning. Organised under the patronage of Sri Sri Sitala Mandir and in association with the people of Demow for the third consecutive year, the Kali Puja celebration started in front of the Sri Sri Sitala Mandir premises and will continue for two days. The Kali Puja held near the State Bank of India (SBI), Demow branch, is the oldest in the Demow area. Kali Puja is also celebrated in Demow Santipur.
Banana trees were placed in front of business establishments in Demow on Thursday, and earthen lamps were lit in the businesses and homes in Demow and nearby areas on Thursday evening. Diwali, being the festival of lights, saw colourful lights illuminating business establishments and houses on Thursday evening. Children were also seen bursting crackers on Thursday evening.
Our Sivasagar correspondent adds: Thousands thronged the historic Kalibari Kali Mandir on Thursday and the day before on the auspicious occasion of Kali Puja, performed with traditional rituals every year. The devotees lit earthen lamps and offered sacrificial goats, pigeons, ducks, white gourd, etc., on the altar of the century-old Ma Kali’s stone idol, one of the oldest in the state. The head priest, Navajyoti Sarma, performed the puja. The puja committee did an appreciable job by offering ‘bhog’ (khichdi) to all devotees who visited the mandir.
Kali Puja in Kalibari here holds special significance for devotees as the stone idol was unearthed in the very spot in 1925 where the mandir now stands. According to elderly members of the committee, a woman from the Manorama Phukan family felt something hard while mopping the front yard of her house seven decades ago. Later that night, Goddess Kali appeared to her husband, Birajananda Boruah, the owner of the plot, in his dream. Boruah told his neighbors about the dream, and they subsequently recovered the massive single stone cut-out Kali idol (5.5’ x 6.5’) inches from beneath the surface of the land. The people of the locality began worshipping the idol, which, over time, has become a center of Shakti worship.
It still surprises many how the large stone idol came to be in Sivasagar, bearing similarities to the one found in Deopani in Karbi Anglong. According to local devotees, Swargadeo Shiva Singha (1741) might have brought it to Rangpur (Sivasagar). It was subsequently buried in the massive earthquake that devastated Upper Assam in 1834. The idol resurfaced when the Dikhow river altered its course further west. Kali puja was also observed at various other places, especially in Devidoul, New Durga Puja Samity, BG Road, AT Road Darikapar, and Demow.
