Shree, Souvenir - Durga Puja 2013, Assam Society of Bangalore Volume I | Page 84

energy. If we look at the Indian Independence, we
see that the leaders of this movement used the
image of Maa Durga to encourage women to
participate in freedom struggle movement. Both the
gracious and horrifying aspects associated with the
image of Durga helped in motivating those women
folks to realise their potentiality and come up with
a positive outcome, especially in terms of winning
freedom from the colonial bondage. Even in our

own time, the significance of Durga Puja is
immense, especially when the question of woman
comes. We live in a world /culture that exploits the
female in various ways. Women bodies are
commodified, sold and abused in many ways.
Despite decades of feminist activism, women are
still struggling for a violence free existence. Time
has come that every woman should internalise the

underlying strength in them as manifested in the
image of Durga, and protect themselves against the
ongoing violence against women. Often, it is
noticeable that the female victims of exploitation
are pacified by citing the example of Maa Durga so
that they can stand up and continue living. In due
course, Durga Puja has become a spiritual metaphor
for enlivening the underlying Shakti or life-force in
us.
Maa Durga is an
embodiment of positive
energy which is actually
the need of our time to
withstand the evil forces
that have engulfed our
society. However, she is
not only a culmination of
energies/powers of the
various Gods to fights
against
the
evils
(represented
by
Mahishasura), she is also
representative of the
protecting
and
empowering nature of
Motherhood. After all,
Maa Durga is emblematic
of creation (srishti),
preservation (sthiti) and
destruction (samhriti).
Apart from symbolising Shakti or the primary lifeforce of this universe, the annual celebration of
Durga Puja also acts as a motivating force to
mentally boost up those thousands of people whose
cries remain ignored. Thus, celebration of Durga is
always accompanied by enthusiasm and energy –
an energy which is positive and a life giving.

( The writer is from Jorhat and currently working in Bengaluru )

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