Dugga Dugga

(Painting by Rani Bajaj)

                                                 

“Jis Kolkata Puja nai vekhya, O Janmayi  Nai” (He who has not seen Puja at Kolkata, hasn't lived)                          

Pujo in Kolkata is an exhibition of art of a brilliant kind which no one can explain and describe; it has to be seen to be believed. And this year it was expected that the scenes of the pandemic would dominate the artists’ minds. Today’s newspaper showed one such picture of Durga as a migrant mother…it is so touching and true to life.  My heart wails for the desperate mother depicted and I bow my head to the creator, Pallab Bhaumik.

This image got me thinking. I did not experience the pain of the migrant who had to walk a thousand miles to reach home in a faraway land, but I have had my own miles to walk in these times. So if I were the artist at Kumartuli who made those beautiful and creative clay idols , how would I make my protima of Durga….the Goddess with ten arms that she uses to protect her devotees from all corners of the earth and beyond. If Durga is the confluence of the powers of gods and goddesses to fight the demon and save the world, my Durga will do the same for me and my world.

The mobile symbolizes the dominant sound in today’s universe. The notes of the caller tunes and WhatsApp messages coming right through the day from the magic box of Jobs & Cook are no less than the Conch Shell in the Devi’s hand.  The day this sound stops, will be the day the heart stops beating and life will be lifeless.

The multiple wires around me represent energy just like the Bow and Arrow in Durga’s hand. Think of the power cord of your computer, the charging wires of the mobile and iPad. A world without these sources of plugging in energy into your devices would mean not only darkness at noon but complete eclipse.

The laptop is today’s Sudarshan Chakra which was given by Lord Vishnu to Durga and to me by Michael Dell. This is the centre of creation and existence and our lives revolve around this one piece of machine which has become our new world, from playground to entertainment and non-stop office work.

WhatsApp is the Lotus in Ma’s hand. This symbolizes all our wisdom. It is said to be liberating us through knowledge. It is so true that this one App is the source of all our knowledge from science to drugs to jokes to philosophy and not to forget the endless good morning messages that tell you over and over again how to find peace, how to be successful, how to avoid stress….ufff ….. this is the real lotus blooming in the country. My usage is so high that the WhatsApp University plans to accord an honourary PhD to me soon for all the forwards that I keep doing round the clock.

My iPad is my Trident that the Mother Goddess possesses. Like the trident which has three sharp edges, my iPad gives me the triple advantage of checking my official mails, doing all my web calls and also intermittently doing my FB, Linkedin and Gmails which my Sudarshana Chakra does not allow due to official security and decorum.

The Mace in Ma Durga’s hand symbolizes loyalty, love and devotion. To me it represents the broom, the brush and the mop that I too have to partake to show my devotion, love and loyalty to my Durga at home. The day you miss doing the chores, this Devi or should I say Debi will make sure thou shalt repent it for ages.

The home Wi-Fi is the real Vajra or Thunderbolt given by Indra that the Mahisasur Mardini has. I remember when the MTNL Wi-Fi suddenly switched off and there was no Pande-ji or Yadav-ji, who are now off on VRS, to attend to the complaint. It seemed that work from home would come to a standstill and I would have to get a special e-pass to go to office to work.  Then I found a new Vajra and now things are normal as long as the connectivity is there and the speed is fine or else ghoomtey reh jaogey…buffering!

 Club or Axe is the most dangerous of all weapons the Goddess possesses. I will make this as the review schedule that each boss gives to his underlings. This is very terrifying and it takes days and nights to complete the review presentation and the boss asks questions that are out of the syllabus and with the club he either has the power to pound you in the presence of all or the ultimate power to Axe….death by guillotine…how cruel!

Why does Durga carry the snake? Spiritual texts say that it symbolizes consciousness and masculine energy of Shiva. The snakes for me today are the multitude of digital meeting applications that have enslaved us. I have for instance almost all the snakes like Zoom, WebEx, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Google Duo…you never know who asks you to connect through which snake and you wriggle and join the call with the standard lingo…Am I audible…can you see my screen…?

Finally the Sword in Ma’s hand. The sword represents the sharpness of intellect …this should be there in all including me. So I shall let her carry this one piece of weaponry not just for the power of the mind and intellect but I need her to use it to kill the devil Mahisasur.

On a serious note…Who is the demon my Durga has to kill?

I think it is in me, the devil in the hiding…

The devil that makes me angry,

The devil that makes me weak,

The devil that makes me pessimistic,

The devil that makes me jealous,

The devil that makes me procrastinate,

The devil that makes my ego bloat ,

The devil that stops me from enjoying life beyond work,

The devil that stops me from smiling, laughing and crying.

I am the devil, the devil is in me!

Ya Devi Sarva-Bhuteshu Vishnumaayeti Shabditaa

Namas-tasyai Namas-tasyai Namas-Tasyai NamoNamah!!

To the Devi Who in all Beings is called Vishnumaya,

Salutations to Her, Salutations to Her, Salutations to Her, Salutations again and again.

Oh how I shall miss the beating of the dhak, the smell of dhunuchi smoke, the flowers at pushpanjali, the rolls and chops at the stalls, the wearing of fine clothes and the darshan of Ma at the evening aarti. I shall stay put at home this time.

(Painting by Bikash Bhattacharya)

                                                       

SS