Angels and Demons

first things first - I cleared my exam today :)

We're just a couple of weeks away from Durga puja, which is the biggest festival of Eastern India. It is a 5-day festival and is as big as Christmas is for Christians, or maybe, even bigger. Like almost every other Hindu festival, Durga Puja is a celebration of victory of good over evil. In this particular story, the evil is a demon called Mahishasura. After attaining magical powers, he started establishing his reign of terror on earth and heaven. He started driving the Gods out of heaven and taking control himself. Later, in a battle, he was killed by Goddess Durga and Durga puja (worship of Goddess Durga) is a celebration of the same. So that's the very brief of the mythology behind it.

Now coming to the article, it claimed that there's a particular community in the north of West Bengal state in India, who are descendants of Mahishasura - the demon in question. Their legend says that Gods actually used deceit and treachery to defeat and kill Mahishasura. Mahishasura is their mythological hero. Hence, when the entire country is celebrating and rejoicing, it is mourning period for this particular community. Their actions in real life actually stands as a testimonial of their thoughts and beliefs.

I found this really bizarre and fascinating. All these years of my life I have been celebrating Durga puja with all zest and energy; it never occurred that there could another side to this festival as well. Truly fascinating. I dont know how much non-Indians can understand or appreciate this but for Indians, especially Bengalies, this should be a very interesting revelation.