108 luchis daily & a 14-yard benarasi: ‘Our Pujo is by the family, for the family’

Pujo is the heartbeat of every Bengali home, and for Pranab Chandra of Mukharochak, and his family, their barir pujo is their festive lifeline. “Though only five years old, our Puja blends age-old customs with heartfelt devotion,” said Pranab while sharing his childhood memories of Durga Puja, their homely rituals and more.I grew up in Tollygunge, where Pujo was once an intimate affair, unlike today’s grand public festival. I miss the old charm, especially the tradition of revealing Durga’s face on Sashti. In our barir pujo, we still follow this, celebrating her arrival with age-old rituals like Bodhon, Amantran, and Adhibas.It began five years ago on August 15, during an adda with friends, when someone suggested, “Why not a home Durga Puja?” Inspired, I decided we’d start that year. With everyone’s support, the idol was ready in a month. Today, we have our own temple and craft the idol ourselves. Our Durga wears a 14-yard red Benarasi sari I order from Benaras six months in advance. On Mahalaya, I perform chokkhudaan, and the family decorates the goddess and temple together according to age-old rituals. We decorate the idol and temple all by ourselves keeping it true to our age old tradition.Absolutely! Everyone, even the kids wear the same colour for Pujo. I personally order saris for the women and panjabis for the men from Beneras. My mom, who is the eldest member of our family, also distributes new clothes in the village near our bagan bari, where we host the Pujo – it’s our little way of sharing the joy of Pujo with everyone we can.From chokkhudaan to growing our own flowers & vegetables for rituals and the bhog – every aspect of our Pujo is homegrown – Pranab ChandraFood is the heart of our celebration. Every meal is different – luchi-alur chorchori, bhog, to evening snacks like phuchka, ghugni, alur dom. After bisarjan, on Dashami, we have fish from our own pond. The flowers, used in the rituals, and vegetables, needed for the bhog, are all grown in our garden. We also make our own sweets. From Mahalaya, a thakur cooks food for all family members. Every day we offer 108 luchis to the goddess.Pix: Anindya Saha