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| The Red visible here is the temple from our house |
The moment I reach home, i.e., our ancestral house in
Burdwan Ma insists that we visit the Shiv
Mandir first. This time it was no exception. I and my three- year old paid
our regards to the deity and walked home. This was the conversation that
happened between us:
Boy: Ma, the Shib here
is not like the Shib in Rourkela .It is alaada (different).
Me: Accha, how is that
so?
Boy: I have seen
photos in the temple there.
Me: Ok
Boy: And then there is
also Shib in Bal Ganesh. (Bal Ganesh is an animated version of the story
about Lord Ganesh)
I am still thinking of the differences he is trying to point
out and then he says
Boy: Burdwan er Shib
has no snake, no face. It is not a lok (man). Why do you call it Shib nono? It
is only stone.
Very interesting isn’t it! The three- year old finds the Shiva Linga an oddity! And how do you
explain a Shiva Linga to a toddler! I
am clueless. Maybe my readers can come up with a way to explain it to him.
Thankfully he mumbled to himself and did not press me for further answers.
Thank God!
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| The deity back home. The silver trishul and the snake were stolen |
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| Painted and decorated |
Shivratri is a
grand affair at my house in Burdwan. The temple overlooks a huge pond and has a
proper bathing ghat attached to it. I
think it dates back to the early 1900’s. It was initially a dilapidated
structure, never maintained by anyone. No one painted the temple and seva of the deity was subjected to the
whims and fancies of the worshippers. If someone had a ‘manshik’ they offered
Pujo or else the deity went without his daily diet! Infested with rats,
cockroaches and lizards the temple was in a sorrow state. Though there was a
rightful owner, he never bothered to look into the affairs of the temple. Later we found out that he was too old, senile
and poor to be looking into it. And it’s also strange and sad that after my
parents took over the care of the temple the poor man died in a fire.
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| Getting the Bhog ready |
It was in 2000 that Baba
decided to shift to Burdwan after taking voluntary retirement from work. Thamma (my paternal grandmother) was not
getting younger and needed us to take care of her. It was during this shifting
that Baba had a bad fall from the
ladder. He could have been badly hurt but he escaped with a fractured elbow. The
doctors considered it to be a complicated surgery. The surgery happened a week before
Shivratri. Ma promised the Lord that
she would take upon herself the seva
of the Lord if the surgery was successful. The Lord granted her wish and thus
began our tryst with the Lord.
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| The mukut |
But it was not an easy task. Restoring the lost glory of the
temple was a task in itself. The main hurdles were the need for manpower and
money. It proved to be too expensive a task for a retired man. We sisters and some of our relatives pooled
in money to form a small fund for the temple. A young man from a village nearby
offered to put in his labor. Within a few days the temple was painted, scrubbed
clean, a priest appointed on the basis of a monthly salary, regular Pujo
offerings by Ma and a special ‘somvaar’ Pujo.
The temple thrived attracting people from all around the city;
devotees started thronging the Mandir
premises. The word spread around that ‘whoever prays here have their wishes
granted’. People contributed to the regular Pujo willingly and since then we no
longer need to bother ourselves about the daily offerings to the Lord.
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| Our 85-year old Purohit Rashbehari dadu |
As Shivratri draws
closer, I keep going back to my days in Burdwan. The days preceding Shivratri are too busy. I think after Durga Puja it’s the second time
that we have a ‘shaaj shaaj rob’ in the family. Painting the temple, ordering
garlands and flowers, drawing alpona, buying ingredients for the Bhog, making food packets, informing all about the exact time for
the commencement of the Pujo and not to miss the discussions about what to wear
for the Pujo are some the various activities we indulge in.
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| Our new 14 year- old Purohit |
Decorating the temple is a task which I have always enjoyed.
Baba usually orders a variety of
flowers from the florist in our locality. The first year Ma had designed a
beautiful ‘mukut’ (headdress) for the Lord. The next year they did not have to
order as the florist decided to offer it voluntarily. The ‘mukut’ has become a
tradition since the last thirteen years. Scores of tuni bulbs adorn the temple from every angle and a huge halogen
light is also strung to show the way to the devotees. Ma cooks the Bhog at home which is taken to the
temple in huge copper plates, offered to the Lord and then distributed amongst
all.
These days the Pujo has grown in dimension with many people
joining in. It has become more of a para event
with the neighbors bearing the cost of fruits and sweets, some joining in the Bhog making and some helping in
distribution as well.
It’s interesting to note that the initial hostility and
resentment that greeted us when we shifted to Burdwan is now replaced with lot
of love, warmth and cooperation from the same people. People who tried to make
our life hell by defecating in front of our entrance, robbing the temple of the
silver snake and trishul, teasing us
have now pledged to stand by us and help us in all our endeavors.
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| Ponjika for March |
