Shree, Souvenir - Durga Puja 2013, Assam Society of Bangalore Volume I | Page 88

Mahalaya

Through my eyes..
Debjani Baidyaray
Mahalaya, the day that marks the beginning of
Durga Puja - a festival that defines the very
existence of Bengalis, irrespective of where they
are located. Mahalaya starts early at dawn with
the same voice year after year chanting the same
shloka to create a ripple in the heartbeat and get
goose bumps even if you are the strongest. One
starts realising that the fun part of the year had
begun.
This auspicious day is observed seven days prior
to Durga Puja. Mahalaya is a kind of invitation to
Goddess Durga to descend on earth. Mahalaya
marks the initiation of Devipaksha and the end of
Pitripaksha.
Every year it is the Mahalaya day that brings back
fond memories of my childhood. Similar to every
other Bengali household, our family too observed
pitripaksha and had the men in the

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