CREATOR OF “TIMELESS MAHALAYA”
BIRENDRA KRISHNA BHADRA
---- ABHIPSA SARKAR__
For every bongs out there, it is a time for Pujo as there are Nyctanthes arbor-tristis or Night-flowering jasmine (shuili ful) blooming all around. The breeze seems to be different from all around year and altogether in the month of Ashwin, gets more filled with hope and joy for good over evil deeds. Durgapujo is basically known more or less to all but do we all know the actual reason and the history behind the rites ‘Mahalaya’ that takes place a week back the beginning of the festival.
There is a proverb “12 mashe 13 parbon “ so in the month of Ashwin, it still regain as the supreme in every Bengalis heart. It officially kicks off with Mahalaya. For Bengalis, it is not just the prelude to 10-day-long festival but a day of Maa Durga's homecoming. It is not just a word, it is a cherished tradition and nostalgia.
In early 1960s gas lit era Calcutta after midnight the first new moon of autumn, one turned up from the by lanes of Kolkata’s Shyampukur neighbourhood and awaits its passenger. Bhadra was never a religious person, he was a clerk in the Indian railways later joined in the All India Radio (AIR) as an amateur playwrighter. Born in 1905 into a family of linguists and lawyers in north Kolkata, Bhadra graduated in 1928 from Scottish Church College. His father Kali Krishna Bhadra could speak 14 languages and was awarded the title “Roy Bahadur” by the British rulers of India in 1927. He debuted as the narrator of Mahishasura Mardini on October 21, 1937. In the initial phase the rendition was a live programme.
In most households, it means waking up at the crack of dawn, drowsy and sleepy-eyed to tune to the sonorous voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra narrating the triumph of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura, through the ‘ Mahishasura Mardini’ (Annihilation of the demon) programme broadcasted on (AIR).
The vast assembly of orchestra musicians would be impeccably dressed men in starched white dhotis and women in crisp red and white sarees. It was also a custom for the entire team to take a bath before settling down. Then sharp at the stroke of 4am it would begin. It was a live programme till 1966 with original flowers and incense to retain its originality. The broadcast should begin only after Devi Paksha began in the morning, rather than Pitri Paksha formally ended paying homage to the spirit of the ancestors at dawn.
Created by the All India Radio in 1931, this 90 minute programme was scripted by Baidyonath Bhattacharya or Bani Kumar, a composer-playwright long associated with the AIR. The music (comprising 20 devotional songs such as
Ya Chandi’, ‘Jago Tumi Jago’, ‘Jaya Jaya Japyajaye’ etc was composed by singer-composer Pankaj Kumar Mullick. The programme also includes Durga invocation verses ‘ Aigiri Nandini’. The star attraction of the programme continues to be Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s recitation of the ‘Chandipath’- the Sanskrit Verses eulogising Goddess Durga in chapter 5 of the text Devi Mahatmyam of a live musical journey with words that welcome the biggest festive season in the eastern India and beyond: “Ashwiner Sharad Prate Beje Utheche Alokomonjir.. Maa Durga emerges as fierceful deity beings in the form of instincts such as hunger, courage, morality, peace etc. in verses like ‘ Ya devi sarvabhuteshu’. The songs were sung by the leading musical artists of that era such as Pratima Banerjee, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukhopadhyay, Utpala Sen, Pankaj Mallick, Shipra Sen etc. ought to figure in secular folklore.
After 1966, the programme was recorded on AIR and every Bengalis welcomes it grandly owing to the communal violence in Kolkata.
His tireless recounting of Maa Durga’s birth, and the epic showdown between her and Mahishasura in that authoritative yet magnetic voice remains one of the highlights of growing up in Bengali homes. Followed by a short chorus in Sanskrit. His voice which so fervently ushered in the season of festivities was conveniently relegated once the celebrations were over. His strota remains an epic and timeless experience that has transcended all social and religious barriers as a heartfelt narrative of hope over hardship.
Several ways have been made to modernise the Mahalaya but even after eight decades, the Bengali stills fascinated for the original one by the recitation of Birendra Krishna Bhadra in the community strong as ever .
Today, the programme continues to be broadcast from four in the morning, for which millions of Bengalis set their alarms and wake up to re-invent the spirit of Durga Puja celebrations. The transistor and radio have been replaced by iPhones, smartphones and has been on tape, CD on YouTube and other websites. The programme is broadcasts on the sixth day of the Devi Paksha.
The evergreen actor of Bengali cinema, Uttam Kumar, trying his best to switch Birendra Krishna Bhadra but did not turned out well of the chanting of the chandi path by the non brahmin.
Apart from Mahalaya, he has also became the popular voice for live radio commentaries on the final journey of public personalities such as Rabindranath Tagore, in Bengal for more than 50 years. But never translated public fame into material affairs.
AIR has changed its other broadcast but not the Mahisasura Mardini. This makes it special, both fresh and familiar a combination that makes it timeless and nostalgic.
Bhadra was never entitled to pension after he retired in 1970. AIR would fetch him the princely sum of Rs75 a month. While Bhadra, who died in relative obscurity in 1991, might not have reaped any financial reward or social recognition for his mesmerizing masterpiece, it will resonate for generations to come.
It has been beyond the realm of scriptures to become a social and cultural landmark. Translated and broadcasted in Hindi as well across India every year, the recital’s underlying message also resonates with a global audience. And Birendra Krishna Bhadra is the epitome of that nostalgia.
Wishing everyone a very happy and safe pujo.
