Tradition of Kumari Puja at Savarna Roychowdhury.
by goutammitra
They have been performing Kumari Puja since 1610, from the day they started Durga Puja.
Goddess Durga arrives to her earthly abode with her four children, Laskhmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh. We worship her as the Goddess of Shakti who overpowered the evil to establish peace and prosperity on earth. She is also the daughter making her yearly visits at her parents place along with her children for four days. The Goddess is worshipped in various forms during her stay here. One of those forms is the "Kumari", the
Virgin form. This mould is the most powerful form of Mahashakti. A girl aged between one to sixteen, symbolising the Kumari form of Devi is worshipped in front of the idol of Goddess Durga. The Kumari form of the Goddess was emphasised as the most dynamic form by the devotees since yester years as Kumari Shakti is the basis of all creations. Our scriptures have emphasised Kumari Puja particularly to evolve the purity and divinity of the women of the society. Diminishing the larger than life stature of the Goddess to someone much nearer and closer is the real reason for this form of worship. Sri RamKrishna had said that Kumari is another form of Devi Durga and he himself worshipped Sarada Ma as Kumari. To imagine the Goddess in the mould of a Kumari is an age old concept. In Mahabharata Arjuna had performed Kumari Puja. The Puranas mention the Kumari form of Chandika.
Selection of Kumar:The scriptures mention the great care with which the Kumari is selected to be worshipped as the earthly representative of Devi Durga. The qualities required in the girl has to match the dynamism, purity and serenity of the Goddess. A calm, serene and an unmarried girl with a bright disposition
between one to sixteen years, who has not yet reached her puberty and is bereft of desire, worldly pleasures and anger is the right requisite for the Kumari Puja. Depending on the age of the girls they are worshipped in the various forms of the Goddess.
Rath Yatra Festival of Sabarna RoyChoudhury4
by goutammitra
The Ratha Yatra festival is an age old tradition of India. While the main festival is associated withRatha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to Puri, but it is their respective chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North. After a stay for seven days, the deities return to their abode in Srimandira.
As said earlier the Founder members of the Sabarnas, were of Saintly Character, they associated themselves in several philanthropic and social activities serving the people they Ruled. Ratha Yatra, Durga Puja, where thousands visited and participated were part of these activity. The Jamindari( Revenue Collection) is gone but the same age old tradition is maintained by the members of the Sabarnas despite all hurdles.
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Taxi Drivers are the WORST!!!
by redheaney
Taxi Driver's would steal the eyes out of your head... If you at all humanly possible - avoid utilising them at all costs!! or agree on a price BEFORE your journey - though this doesn't always work. I had one such occasion where i threatened to call the Police... and was actually in the process of trying to get a call through to them! This guy (who wasn't aware we had been in the area for a while) took the "scenic route" (if you know what i mean) and then tried charging us about 4x the price!! The situation was eventually resolved, though not quickly, when a very nice Indian man, who thankfully spoke very good English, chased him off after a very heated exchange.
i vowed, then and there, never again.... the word 'hate' is a very strong word. let's just say that i 'really dislike' indian taxi drivers...
Eating out in Jungle in Kolkata!-2
by goutammitra about Machan at Mani Square
This Sunday ( today) we treated ourselves at Maachan the latest in restaurant world of Kolkata. A brain child of Mr.Anjan Chatterjee, the owner of Mainland China chain of restaurant. This is the new concept Mr. Chatterjee has given to Kolkata city before Durga Puja ( opened on last tuesday). This is an instant hit with the children. Decorated in pure jungle style the ambience is created as if you are sitting and eating amidst jungle with music from Masai Mara, Africa and India perfectly played to create that jugle living. Even the toilet has been decorated with junle style.The entre space is full of animals ( artificial), snakes, crocodiles and the dress of the stwerts also in Jungle Style. Machan means a tree top house meant for watching animals. In yester years Machan used to be created to hunt for Tigers or other wild animals with the help of a live bait such as Sheep or a goat. The hunter used to shoot as the animal pounced on it's prey.
We met all the crews from Mainland China and Sigree Flame and grill, all the old hand are perfect and professional. A great place to enjoy your outing. It's naturaly drawing lots of Kolkatans who love to eat out on any occasions. Food is exellent created with special Jungle Masala ( ingredients), to give you that taste of rustic Jungle cooked food. We had Dahi Gosht ( Lamb marinated and smeared in Curd/ Yogurt and cooked in slow fire), Junglee Masale a Murg ( Chicken Tikka cooked in Junglee Masala a slightly spicy but tasted excelent), Jafrani Biryani Gosht portion and Jafrani Biryani Chicken portion ( Biryani cooked with genuine saffron tasted heavenly) I am sure my friend Kashi Mallya of Sydney , who is also an Ex.Taj man like Mr.Chatterjee, would love to visit this place.
We were provided a Beautiful Mocktail, A bowl of Mutton Soup and Aloo Ki topi snack on the house. Another winning touch from the ranch of Mr.Anjan Chatterjee and Mr.Firoz Sadri ( Director Operations Mainland China).
We have liked the place and we know we are going to frequent ths place like Mainlnd China, Sigree, Oh Kolkata ! A great trbute by Mr.Chatterjee to th city e was born!
For more picures please turn to tip no -II.
Manager: Mr.Jayanta Biswas: 9748714140
The Coffee Bar & Multi-Cuisine Restaurant.
by goutammitra about INDTHALIA.
Last night while watching VT I found a new restaurant tip on Calcutta page, INDTHALIA. Started by an enterprising Bengali gentleman who lives in California ( Perhaps the tip was written by him). It was very near to our house in Southern Avenue, in a very posh locality. I cross this place everyday but have never noticed this place seriously. Well at 9.30 P.M. we decided to visit this place instantly though Rakhi had kept the dinner ready.
The decor and the ambience is excellent, the staff are real polite and the Manager Mr.Saha is very helpful and suggests how and what to choose from the menu. Food was very good as suggested in the tip and the price was with in reach for a place like Southern Avenue. They also have home delivery facility within 2KM and gives discount of 10% if the order is more the Rs500/-. The can also accomodate small party crowd upto 40 heads. Shall organize Birthday, Anniversary, Office & farewel party on your behalf all with in a very reasonable price.What else do you want??? In a big city like Calcutta everything comes with a price tag. The speciality of this place is it will not make a hole in your wallet!!!! We had Mixed menu yesterday. We had Fish finger, Russian Salad, Jai Thai Rice Mixed, Ch.Of sauce Chicken( Dumplings), all these costs less thn Rs. 600/- or USD14. Quantity !!!!! have a look at the photographs! We could not finish the food we ordered. I think I will become an Ambassador of this place if I continue to get this kind of service. I have really liked the place and the ambience. This place do not serve any liquor or beer but have excellent coffee.
I suggest them to add at least Beer in the menu and get the licence quickly. I Calcutta there are some regulations of allowing Beer or Hard liquor to be consumed in Residential Area or near the schools. One has to get the licence.
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