Debi Paksha 2011

Its again that time of the year when we start the festivities officially..... yes yet another Mahalaya is knocking on our doors. Tommorrow at the crack of dawn, the enchanting voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra will fill our hearts out.



In this digital age, leaving out all the comfort of the iphones, ipads, 3G, dolby fx sound, we bengalis will turn the good old radio on and just listen to the pure eternal bliss of Mr. Bhadra's recitation. The legendary narrator recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth, in his inimitable style.

Bhadra has long passed away, but his recorded voice still forms the core of the Mahalaya program. In a sonorous, reverberating voice Birendra Bhadra renders the Mahalaya recital for two thrilling hours, mesmerizing every household with the divine aura of his narration, as the Bengalis submerge their souls in quiet moments of prayer.

For those out of station, do not be melancholy. Just note down the local station frequencies where AIR will air the programme............

SW

4760 - Port Blair
4820 - Kolkata
4835 - Gangtok
4880 - Lucknow
4895 - Kurseong
4940 - Guwahati
4965 - Shimla

MW

603 - Ajmer
621 - Patna A
648 - Indore A
657 - Kolkata A
666 - New Delhi B
675 - Chattarpur
711 - Siliguri
729 - Guwahati A
747 - Lucknow A
756 - Jagdalpur
774 - Shimla
801 - Jabalpur
810 - Rajkot A
819 - New Delhi A
846 - Ahmedabad A
909 - Gorakhpur
918 - Suratgarh
954 - Nazibabad
981 - Raipur
1008 - Kolkata B
1026 - Allahabad A
1044 - Mumbai A
1125 - Tezpur
1179 - Rewa
1242 - Varanasi
1260 - Ambikapur
1314 - Bhuj
1386 - Gwalior
1395 - Bikaner
1404 - Gangtok
1476 - Jaipur A
1584 - Mathura
1593 - Bhopal A

"Ya devi sarbabhuteshshu, sakti rupena sanksthita Namasteshwai Namasteshwai Namasteshwai namo namaha."

Hi All,

I am back, albeit after a long hiatus.

Pujo is round the corner, the buzz is around.......

This year, we are bringing to you an intricate replica of the "Bhabatarini Mandir" of Dakhinewsar. Should look somewhat like this-

A brief history of this iconic structure:

The famous Dakshineswar temple which houses the Goddess Kali was founded by Rani Rashmoni following a dream she saw when she was about to start on her pilgrimage to Benaras. A long term plan of the Rani materialized which she had longed to perform when her husband died with unfulfilled wish of constructing a Kali temple.

Dakshineswar Temple was founded on the 31st of May,1855;18 Jaistha 1262 b.s. The holy tithi was of Jagannath Deva Snanyatra. The Dakshineswar temple was founded on this auspicious day after facing many conflicts. The Rani Ma called by her people out of adoration, respect and love, installed Sri Jagadishwari Ma, the mother of the universe under the priesthood of Sri Rama Kumar Chattopadhaya .From young Gadadhar's coming to Dakshineshwar along with elder brother Rama Kumar to his transformation into the Avatar of the age, has become a legend now.

A series of 12 identical Shiva temples are established within the premises of the Devalaya. Opposite to the Kuthi Bari these temples are close to the banks of the River Ganga. The interior of the temples is done in white and black stone and each of the temples houses Shiva lingas done in black stone. The temples face the east and are constructed in the typical ‘Aat Chala’ Bengal architecture. However, keeping with Singhi Park's tradition, our idol will be 'Ek Chala'. The series of temples are divided by the river bank, keeping the six Shiva temples to the left and the other six to the right. Prayers are offered here every day and it was here Sri Ramkrishna is said to have meditated here to reach enlightenment.

To the north east of the Temple Complex is the Vishnu Temple or the Radha Kanta’s Temple. A flight of steps lead to the columned verandah and into the temple where a silver throne rests with a 21 and half inches idol of Lord Krishna and 16 inches idol of Radha. Daily puja is performed here and it is said that Sri Ramakrishna himself offered puja here.

Lets hope everyone likes it.

Lasltly: