Bangla-O-Biswa Durga Puja

Maynard Public High School in Maynard, Massachusetts

The high school cafeteria before its transformation into ritual space.

On Friday evening before the Puja (festival) begins, a few Bangla-O-Biswa members create the pandal (platform) with a set of bleachers and plastic tablecloths. This is where the murtis (images of the deities) will be placed.

The boxes containing the five murtis of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesha have been stored in the priests' basement for the year. Here they are unpacked so that they may be assembled on the pandal.

Here, the murti of Durga slaying the demon Mahisa is unpacked.

A close-up of the murti of Durga.

Murtis of Ganesha and Kartik, the sons of Durga.

During their time in storage, some of the murtis have been damaged. One Bangla-O-Biswa member glues pieces of glitter and plastic jewels back onto the murti of Saraswati.

By Saturday morning, the cafeteria has been transformed into a ritual space. The murtis are set up, and as devotees arrive they approach the murtis to prostrate before them.

Some women volunteer to help cut fruit that will be offered to the deities during the ritual.

Other women help prepare the hot vegetarian food in the kitchen that will also be offered during the ritual. Once blessed by the goddess, this food becomes prasad, or blessed food, and is consumed by devotees.

The Maynard High School lunch ladies also help make the food. The woman on the right has been helping prepare food for Bangla-O-Biswa festivals for three years.

Sweets are a major part of Bengali culinary life. These particular sweets are prepared only once a year during Durga Puja. Here, women set the sweets out on platters to be offered to the goddess.

Once all of the fruits, sweets, and hot foods have been prepared, a portion of them is laid out in front of the murtis as an offering to the goddess.

Ritual accoutrements are also placed before the murtis.

After the set-up is complete, the priest begins the ritual ceremony. For approximately one hour, he conducts a puja (ritual) wherein he invokes the presence of the deities.

After about an hour, devotees gather around the murtis and food offerings to participate in the puja.

As part of the puja honoring Durga, one woman blows a conch shell.

The most important part of the puja for devotees is anjuli. Here, each devotee is given a flower to hold in his or her hand while the priest chants Sanskrit mantras. These mantras give praise to the goddess and beseech her blessing. Devotees then place the flower on a platter to be offered to the goddess.

Devotees hold the flower in their hands and repeat Sanskrit mantras after the priest.

After the ritual has been completed and the food has been consumed, there are various cultural activities that take place. Here children display their talents with the sitar and the harmonium - traditional Indian instruments - in the auditorium.

Some of the men play cards in the hallway.

On Sunday, the entire ritual is repeated. Here, flowers are handed out for anjuli once again.

At the close of the festival on Sunday, the priest performs a puja wherein he asks the deities to take leave of the murtis.

Once the murtis have been vacated by the presence of the deities, there is a bittersweet celebration where devotees say goodbye to the deities. Here, one devotee dances before the murtis while holding incense.

Another man dances while a large drum is played and devotees clap to the beat.

After the singing and dancing is over, the women take the sindoor (red powder that Indian women place in the parts of their hair to signify the fact that they are married) that has been offered to the goddess and smear is playfully on one another. Here, a woman is approaching Durga to receive the blessed sindoor.

Married women who have been smeared with sindoor pose for photos with one another.

This researcher, also marked on the forehead with sindoor, poses with some of the women devotees.

The murtis are eventually packed up in boxes and taken to another members' home in a UHaul truck.