PM Modi takes part in Durga Puja festival at nucleus of Delhi’s Bengali community
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid obeisance to the almighty Goddess Durga almost around ‘sandhikaal’ or the juncture of Asthami-Navami on Tuesday, November 30, at Chittaranjan Park Kali Mandir in South Delhi.
He offered puja to the Kali deity in the temple and then participated in the ‘sandhya-aarati’ or evening prayers amidst the rumbling of ‘dhak’ and the tinkling of bells. Kali and Durga are two forms or aspects of Shakti. Sandhikaal is the time when Devi Chamunda manifested to kill the demons Chanda and Munda, say some experts. The time is also associated with Lord Ram invoking the Goddess during his battle against Ravan.
Residents of Chittaranjan Park could not remember an occasion earlier when any Prime Minister of India had paid a visit to their locality during the auspicious period of Durga Puja. The venue and the time both were of significance for the Prime Minister’s visit.
According to some, it was chosen significantly before the Assembly elections in West Bengal next year, at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is on the back foot over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking persons, taking them as Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Chittaranjan Park was founded more than 60 years ago as an EPDP (people displaced from the erstwhile East Pakistan) Colony, later renamed in honour of ‘Deshbandhu’ Chittaranjan Das. The area was provided for housing families who had to flee their homes in East Bengal due to the violence that followed the Partition of India.
Chittaranjan Park Kali Mandir was established in 1973, initially built as a Shiv Temple. In 1984, it was expanded to include shrines for Goddess Kali, Radha, and Krishna. It has since become a significant religious-cultural centre, where puja is held regularly, with special festivities heralding Kali Puja. The Durga Puja celebration began here in 1977.
Gautam Hore, a resident of Chittaranjan Park for the last 31 years, could not remember such an occasion as on Tuesday. He was present close to the venue visited by the Prime Minister. Saumya Bandopadhyay, a senior journalist covering politics and government in New Delhi since 1984, also could not recall any incident of a Prime Minister taking part in Durga Puja festivities in the locality.
However, he said that he has seen former President Pranab Mukherjee taking part in Shyama Puja at the New Delhi Kalibari. Significantly, Bandopadhyay was also a witness during a visit to the capital, “sometimes in the early 1960s” to the then President of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, inaugurating Durga Puja celebrations at the Mandir Marg Kalibari.
In Chittaranjan Park, the area in and around Kali Mandir has been regularly scanned, and security protocol has been put in place for almost a fortnight. Last weekend, residents were asked to remove their vehicles parked along the road during the PM visit, and street-side hawkers were instructed to stay away for a brief period on Tuesday. The area witnesses heavy footfall with a ban on vehicle entry during the festive period.
The Prime Minister’s security protocol, including the Special Protection Group, conducted inspections and assessed the area ahead of his visit. Preparations began late last week with residents receiving messages on their WhatsApp group about a possible “VVIP movement expected to the Kali Mandir on Ashtami”. It informed residents to remove all parked vehicles on a small stretch of the main Bipin Chandra Pal Marg and connecting arterial roads.
The message was sent on behalf of Rajiv Nag, Secretary, Kali Mandir Society. Initially, some residents assumed that extra security measures were being taken in view of at least three events in the locality scheduled to celebrate their golden jubilee this year. The burgeoning population in Chittaranjan Park, leading to a surge in construction, and the mushrooming of several open market complexes, have resulted in a paucity of parking spots. The message led to some residents complaining about the inconvenience due to the restriction of open spaces in the sprawling colony, especially in times of occasions like Durga Puja.
But the mention of “VVIP movement” led to further queries, finally revealing that it was none other than the Prime Minister of the country himself. Welfare associations and authorities, after some confabulations, finally provided a solution by requesting schools in the area to throw open their premises for parking vehicles for a few hours.
