Last year’s production of Mahishasura Mardini by PBC and BIP members
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“PBC and BIP together form a 26,000-plus-member network across Facebook and WhatsApp that helps Bengalis in Pune stay connected, share information, discover and participate in cultural events, and build links between families, community groups, Durga Puja committees and other Bengali organisations,” said Debabrata De, administrative member of PBC and BIP. It marks the spiritual beginning of Devi Paksha and the arrival of Ma Durga, heralding the start of the Durga Puja season,” said De. “The timeless tradition of Mahishasura Mardini, immortalised through the legendary voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra, has for generations awakened Bengali households on Mahalaya morning with its chants, music and invocation of the Goddess,” De said. “Our stage production is an artistic tribute to that tradition — bringing together dance, drama, music, narration and devotion in a grand theatrical presentation,” he added. De said that the addition is intended to offer a fresh artistic dimension while retaining the connection with the Mahalaya tradition.
Pune: For Pune’s Bengali community, this year’s Mahalaya programme will take a new artistic direction, with Mahishasura Mardini incorporating the Dashamahavidya, the ten manifestations of Shakti. Pitru Paksha ends and Devi Paksha dawns with Mahalaya. This period is associated with the worship of the Goddess and the homecoming of Durga. For generations, the day has also been closely associated with Mahishasura Mardini, a radio programme whose chants, music and Sanskrit recitation became a defining Mahalaya ritual in Bengali homes. The programme, featuring the iconic voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra, narrates the manifestation of Durga and her battle with the buffalo demon Mahishasura. “For Bengalis, Mahalaya is much more than a date on the calendar. The Dashamahavidya, meanwhile, comes from the wider Shakta tradition and refers to ten forms of the divine feminine, each representing different aspects of Shakti. The ten are Kali, Tara, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshwari, Bhairavi, Chhinnamasta, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi and Kamala. Unlike the traditional Mahishasura Mardini narrative, which centres on Durga’s battle with Mahishasura, the Dashamahavidya allows the production to bring several distinct representations of the Goddess into the same theatrical framework. This year’s presentation will feature dancers and performers from Pune, with the Dashamahavidya woven into the larger production. Download the TOI App.
The fourth edition of the production, presented by Pune Bengali Community (PBC) and Bengalis in Pune (BIP) in association with Probasi Bengali Foundation, will be staged on Saturday at Symbiosis Auditorium, Viman Nagar.