Bishrutaa as Kubjika, the scriptural name for a six-yearold Devi. Brahmacharis from the Ramakrishna Mission will do the honours in Khar.

Goddess to be welcomed with ‘kumari puja’ ritual

Mumbai: Drumbeats will herald the Bengalis’ best-loved festival of Durga Puja on Saturday. Two of the oldest pandals in Mumbai are preparing for the most important ritual of all, the ‘kumari puja’, where a little girl is worshipped as an embodiment of the goddess.
    By coincidence, both Ramakrishna Mission in Khar and Bengal Club in Shivaji Park
have chosen six-year-old Bishrutaa Chakraborty to be the Devi this year. The Class I Bombay Scottish student is the daughter of Joy Chakraborty, director of Hinduja Hospital. The family lives at Cadell Road. The couple has taken ‘diksha’ at the mission while Bishrutaa’s father is alife member of Bengal Club.
    “I feel blessed that my daughter has been chosen for this auspicious occasion at not one but two prominent pandals. It is a great feeling for the whole family. Her grandparents are arriving from Kolkata especially to be with her,” he said.
    Bishrutaa is not unfamiliar with the role, having enacted the part of the goddess at a family function when she was just three. “She sat patiently with her hand raised in blessing for a long time,” her mother, Bidisha, said. “However, this is her first puja outing.”
    At both pandals, the child’s name was approved in no time. “The checklist for selection is rather simple. All we look for is a Brahmin girl around the age of 5-7 who hails from a good family,” said Moloy Purkayastha of Bengal Club.
    The mission’s ‘kumari puja’ is scheduled for ‘ashtami’ on Monday, while Bengal Club traditionally does the ritual the following day on ‘navami’. Pt Bimal Banerjee, who will perform the puja at Shivaji Park, will address Bishrutaa as Kubjika, the scriptural name for a six-yearold Devi. Brahmacharis from the Ramakrishna Mission will do the honours in Khar.
    “The kumari is dressed like a small bride, wearing a red Banarasi sari, golden ornaments, sandalwood and bindi. A floral crown is placed on her head and garlands adorn her wrist,” Bidisha said. The priest places holy offerings of flowers, sandalwood, durva and kumkum before her and washes her feet before presenting the ‘naivedya’ (offering of food). Thousands of people witness the ceremony, which is believed to bring good luck.

BLESSED: Bishrutaa prepares for her role for the ‘kumari puja’