MAHALAYA 2018 DATE & TIME 
8th October (Monday) 21st Aashin 1425 Mahalaya 'Torpon' on 8th October(Monday) after 10:49am
২১ আশ্বিন ১৪২৫, ৮ অক্টোবর ২০১৮ সোমবার, সূর্য্যোদয় ঘ ৫।৩৪, সূর্য্যাস্ত ঘ ৫।১৬, । অমাবস্যা আরম্ব সকাল ১০।৪৯মি শেষ পরের দিন সকাল ৯।১১মি । অমাবস্যার নিশিপালন ২১ আশ্বিন ১৪২৫, ৮ অক্টোবর ২০১৮ সোমবার। সায়ংসন্ধ্যা নিষেধ মহালয়ার পার্ব্বণ শ্রাদ্ধ। শ্রাদ্ধানন্তর ষোড়শপিণ্ডদান কর্ত্তব্য। অপরপক্ষীয় বা প্রেতপক্ষবিহিত শ্রাদ্ধ ও তিল-তর্পণ সমাপন দিবা ঘ ১০।৪৯ গতে।

Mahalaya marks the start of the 'Devipaksha' and the end of the 'Pitri-paksha'. The traditional six day countdown to Mahasaptami starts from Mahalaya. Goddess Durga visits the earth for only four days but seven days prior to the Pujas, starts the Mahalaya. The enchanting voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra fills up the predawn hours of the day thus marking the beginning of "Devipaksha" and the beginning of the count-down to Durga Puja.

MYTH REGARDING MAHALAYA 

Pitri- Paksha is a 16 day period during which Hindus pay homage to their ancestors. As per legend, when Karna died in the epic Mahabharata, his soul transcended to heaven. There he was offered jewelry as food. Bemused, Karna asked Indra for the reason of this bizarre happening. Indra told him that because of the fact that he has never donated food to his ancestors in Shraddhas, during his lifetime, he was getting such treatment. Karna said that he was unaware of his ancestors and hence he had no chance of donating food to them. He was given a chance then to make amends. He returned to earth for a 16 day period and performed Shraddha and donated food in memory of his ancestors. This period is henceforth known as Pitri-Paksha. Goddess Durga starts her journey towards earth on the day of Mahalaya, i.e. on the first day of the Devi-Paksha.

This day bears immense significance for the Bengalis. According to Puranas, King Suratha used to worship goddess Durga in spring. Thus Durga Puja was also known as Basanti Puja. But Rama preponed the Puja and worshiped Durga in autumn and that is why it is known as 'Akal Bodhon' or untimely worship.

Actually, Sree Rama hastily performed Durga Puja just before he set for Lanka to rescue Sita from Ravana It was considered untimely as it is in the myths that puja was performed when the Gods and Goddesses were awake i.e “Uttarayan" and was not held when the Gods and Goddesses rested ie."Dakshinayan".

The foods which are usually being offered to the ancestors are cooked in silver or copper vessels and are offered on banana leaves. The foods may vary but it must include rice, dal, kheer,lapsi, yellow gourd, and certain vegetables. The one who performs the Shraddha is expected to take a holy bath and then should wear a dhoti. The Pinda –daan (offerings during the Shraddha) are made bare-chested. Then a cow and dog are also fed. The Brahmins are offered then with the food. Once all these are done with, the family members can begin their lunch.

Finally pieces of cloth soaked in fineclay from the river bed of Ganges is applied on the joints of the figure which develops cracks after drying. This thin coat of clay is applied to strengthen the joints.On completing the clay structure the figure is painted with white earth colour. Finally the whole statue is painted with pink or yellow earth colours. The last earth colour applied is the blood colour. The eyes are then painted and other detailing are done by the main artist. The idols of Durga are then varnished. Hair made of jute is glued and then the idol is dressed and then ornamented.

MAHALAYA ON ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Mahalaya is a special day which comes in the lives of all Hindus, especially Bengalees, once a year. It was on the day of Mahalaya, the beginning of "devipaksha", the Gods and Goddesses woke up to prepare themselves for Durga Puja. Akashvani Mahalaya: During the early 1930s, Mahalaya was first broadcasted over the radio in Akashvani. The programme was organised by Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhya and Raichand Boral. It was broadcasted live then. Later it was recorded and played. Bengal's cine star, Uttam Kumar had once recited Mahalaya while Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhya was the music director. But it was not popular among the mass and from then it has always been the voice of Birendra Kishna Bhadra, enthralling the listeners in the pre-dawn hours of Mahalaya. The voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra has become a part of the life of all Bengalees. Along with the other trademarks of autumn, this too plays a pivotal role in indicating that happy times are arriving; the Durga Puja is in the doorsteps of every Bengali. The script was written by Bani Kumar, music was directed by Pankaj Kumar Mallik while Dijen Mukhopadhya, Manobendra Mukhopadhya (Tabo Achinta....), Sandhya Mukhopadhya, Arati Mukhopadhya, Utpala Sen, Shyamal Mitra and Supriti Ghosh (Bajlo tomar alor benu....) sang in their melodious voices. The audio CD of this broadcast is available through HMV. Also, Doordarshan shows a visual treat at the same time on the morning of the Mahalaya. After the advent of the satellite channels, most of the regional ones too joined the bandwagon, and that tooquite successfully.
The night before Mahalaya is also a special and a short one! Earlier, people used to engage themselves in feasts through out that night and the crescendo was reached with the start of the programme on Radio. These things have faded away with the course of time, but the nostalgia and excitement which Mahalaya once created is still there.

The eye is given to the idol of Devi Durga on this auspicious day. It is an age old custom which is rather obsolete these days. Still, some age old houses which observe the Durga Puja abide by this custom, even today. Mahalaya is an important day, especially in Bengal. Many offices and all educational institutions remain closed on that day. People eagerly wait for this day, since it effectively marks the beginning of the biggest festive period of the year.

WEBSITE LINK RELATED TO MAHALAYA
Given below are the links of websites which have nothing in connection with Bangalinet. We are in no way responsible for the copyright and validation related issues of these websites. We are only providing this links in order to quench your curiosity, to know more about Mahalaya. These are all external links and cited only keeping in mind the fact that interested people might find them helpful.

Suggested Readings

Mahalaya: Invoking the Mother Goddess

Mahalaya: Pitri Paksha

Mahalaya Videos

Mahalaya 2013 in Star Jalsha

Mahalaya 2011 in Star Jalsha

Mahalaya 2010 - Saregama

Mahalya Animation video

Maa Mahishashur Mardini: Bengali Animation Movie on Mahalya