Sword of faith instills hope in red corridor

7 October 2012

be god's glow
biswabrata goswami
LALGARH, 7 OCT: For about a year, Maoist violence has subsided in Lalgarh, a hotbed of Left-wing extremism which witnessed several killings, including the infamous carnage in nearby Netai village, in which nine people were killed.
Lalgarh residents, who used to live in constant fear of Maoist violence, are in a festive mood now, awaiting the arrival of the goddess Durga.
The people of Lalgarh are eagerly awaiting the centuries-old astra puja on Ashtami, when the sword is worshipped along with the goddess at the Lalgarh Rajbari by the descendants of the royal family.
“The weapon has become a symbol of power in our family since our ancestors came here from Etwa in Uttar Pradesh (earlier in Gujrat). We worship it every year on Ashtami along with the Durga idol, which is almost 400 years old," said Mr Pranesh Kumar Sahas Roy, one of the descendants of the royal family. In the Lalgarh royal family, two Durga idols are worshipped. With one of the Durga idols is Sarbamangala, which is also the family deity. With the other are Lakshmi and Saraswati. In a myth popular among the members of the royal family, an unknown warrior alone killed 11,000 Bargis when the Maratha plunderers invaded Lalgarh sometime between 1741 and 1751. Before leaving, he left his sword behind. Since then, the sword has been treated as a symbol of the power of the royal family.
Mr Roy believes that his ancestors were brave warriors, skilled with their swords and bows. Because of bravery of their ancestor Rasik Narayan, the then nawab, Alibardi Khan had given him the title Sahas Roy. "We respect the sword. Our ancestors believed that our family deity had taken the form of the warrior and saved us from the Bargis," Roy added.
"Owing to Maoist violence, we could not enjoy the festivity. But, from last year, the people have started coming out of their houses to celebrate the puja," he said. 
"This year, the puja will be observed with much fanfare and traditional rituals and people are expected to throng our puja mandap to observe the ashtami puja and astra puja, as they used to do in previous years when the Maoists did not rear their ugly heads in Junglemahal," he said.
Local resident Mr Tarun Mahato said: "We will celebrate Durga puja this year with a different zeal as we could not enjoy it for many years. We will see the astra puja at the Rajbari because it has different experience."
Members of the Lalgarh royal family said a few swords are taken to a pond near the Rajbari on the morning of Ashtami and washed as part of the rituals before being placed in the Durga mandap.