Cuttack: Chandinichowk Puja Committee, one of the oldest organisations in the Silver City here which celebrates Dussehra, has been following a set of unique traditions since the days of monarchy.
This puja panel usually follows a different pattern for shaping the clay idol of Goddess Durga. Besides, the panel has been offering a special bhog made with fish and vegetables to Goddess Durga on the occasion of Mahanavami for last several years, locals said.
During monarchy, residents of Chandinichowk offered puja to the Goddess under a thatched structure. The committee had constructed a permanent mandap for Dussehra celebration way back in 1926.
Members of the puja panel claim that they designed a silver tableau for the Goddess in 2004. They had arranged three quintals of silver for the 14ft-high tableau.
According to the locals, a special mask was brought from Nepal to shape the face of the idol during monarchy. Even today, the artisans use this special mask to shape the idol, they added.
As per the tradition, members of the puja committee usually prepare a special bhog with five quintals of fish and vegetables on the occasion of Mahanavami. The special bhog is distributed among the locals after the priest offers it to the Goddess. “We are also selling this special dish to devotees at cheap rate,” said a member of the puja panel.
It is learnt that the committee has earmarked Rs 15 lakh for this year’s Durga puja. The panel has imposed a ban on any type of polythene bags at its puja pandal. “We will provide baskets made of bamboo flakes to devotees to offer bhog to the deity. This year, we have installed six LED gates near our pandal. A private agency from Chandannagar in Kolkata has been roped in to install the gates. We will organise orchestra programmes for four days,” said another member of the puja panel.
Chandinichowk Puja Committee secretary Bijay Kumar Behera said they have decided to introduce a queue system for devotees. “The administration has assured us to take all possible steps to maintain law and order in the locality,” Behera added.
Puja committee president Pratap Kishore Singh said the Durga idol of Chandinichowk is the last one to be immersed at the Debigada ghat of Kathajodi river. “We used to felicitate the office-bearers of all puja committees of the city during the immersion ceremony,” he added.
