Right after Monsoon comes the season of festivities, bringing a reprieve from daily grind, where different communities celebrate ritually diverse festivals. Each festival in India has multifaceted significance and is religiously marked by various practices such as fasting, abstinence, etc. Festivals are an occasion to celebrate with great grandeur and what could be better than Durga Puja for inhabitants of Kolkata.
Goddess Durga is the embodiment of ‘shakti’, she is known to be the divine feminine force governing all cosmic creation, existence and change. It is a popular belief that Durga came into existence from the collective energies of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, to conquer the demon Mahishasura who could not be defeated by any god or man.
Durga, meaning ‘the impenetrable’ in Sanskrit, is also regarded as the mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya, and is considered to be the demon-fighting form of Lord Shiva's wife, Parvati.
The beginning of autumn is marked by the Navratri festival or Durga Puja in West Bengal. Durga Puja or Durgotsava is the largest and most awaited festival of the year for Bengali Hindus. Durga is honoured with great fervour on her annual visit to her ancestral home, along with her children.
Weather in Kolkata during Durga Puja
The sub-division of West Bengal has not fared well in terms of Monsoon rain this year. The percentage of cumulative rain deficiency has recovered much in last few weeks and now stands at 15%.
In fact the month of September also started on a good note and fairly good showers were witnessed. On the first 3 days of the month, Kolkata received 10 mm, 31 mm and 25 mm of rain, respectively. Rainfall reduced thereafter, but the ‘City of Joy’ constantly experienced rainy days since then. The city has received 90 mm of rain so far and we can expect light rain for the coming days as well.
As Durga Puja this year will be celebrated in the last week of September, celebrations could be hampered as there is forecast of rain throughout the month. According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, in the absence of rain, weather will be hot and humid with maximum in mid-thirties and minimums in mid-twenties.
