Lauren

Baby’s First Kali Puja

While most of India worship Goddess Lakshmi during Diwali, communities from the North East worship her divine contrast, Goddess Kali. If you consider Goddess Lakshmi as the opulent full moon, Goddess Kali is the regenerative new moon. We attended the vibrant Bengali Kali Puja celebration under a new moon for a second time this year, and it was mesmerising as ever. Goddess Kali is a symbol of power, freedom, equality and primal creativity, she is Mother Earth and the destroyer of egos.

This year my mother and youngest sister could attend too, I was really excited for them to experience a different Indian culture. I was equally excited to see what our little one made of it all, last year I felt his first definite kick during the Kali puja aarti (a ceremony where a special devotional song is sang whilst offering a light to the deity).

When we arrived at the celebration, another baby was already there…

Babies playing in front of Kali maa

Little did they know they had both been at this same spot together last year. We saw her as a three month old baby there to meet Goddess Kali for the first time, when Rohan was still in utero. I felt such a content satisfaction watching them play together.

The next day my mum and youngest sister flew back to England, and I was feeling down. I love living in India but being so far away from so many loved ones is extremely difficult. In the evening we returned to Goddess Kali and participated in the visarjan (when the deity is immersed in water at the end of the festival).

This experience immediately lifted me up again. It was amazing, so many happy people, full of joy vibes. Rohan was a cheerful little boy, smiling at everyone, watching everything with fascination. Thankfully he enjoys wearing his ear defenders, because there were lots of drums!

We had to say goodbye to both my mother and the mother that day, but I know we’ll see them both next year. In the meantime, they are only a call or a prayer away.

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8 comments

  1. yes i do, but if do try it dont try nirjala upvaas (no food no water) on kali puja, i bet if you do; you will never ever visit that kali puja pandal again 🙂

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  3. @Lauren

    May Goddess Kali destroy all the negative energies from your life and bless you with happiness and prosperity. It seems that you have forged a bond with the divine mother. When I was a kid, I used to wonder why we Bengalis worship Goddess Kali on Diwali when the whole world was worshiping Goddess Lakshmi. We were the odd ones. It was later I realized that both are forms of the same infinite female energy Adi Shakti.

    The small statue near of the idol of the Goddess Kali belongs to the Saint Ramkrishna Paramahansa, of Bengal, who was an ardent devotee of Goddess Kali. He was also the the guru of Swami Vivekananda.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramakrishna

    Rohan looks absolutely cute with his ear defenders. It is so fantastic that Rohan is getting to experience so many festivals. There is always lots of noise during Kali Pooja and Visarjan. There is lots of noise. Bengalis are very fond of big drums during Durga Pooja and Kali Pooja.

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  5. you said ‘last year I felt his first definite kick during the Kali puja aarti’ i remember reading somewhere that when Leonardo Dicaprio’s parents were watching the original Monalisa in France he kicked thats why they named him Leonardo. May be its divine signal of blessing, may you should name him Rohan Kali Mokasdar 🙂 🙂

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  6. Its so amazing looking how interracial kido growing up in both cultures and both countries (een if you live in India, England is always in your heart) – can’t wait to see Rohan in 10 years – which coulture he will be follow. I think growing in both coultures is so stimulating for kids, they are more open, more understanding, and courious of whole world! ❤

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  7. hey Lauren, how are you? In bengali culture we worship kaali during diwali. Goddess kali is also worshipped during Amavasya.

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  8. Lovely post Lauren but two words out stood for me. North East. Even my own country man know v.little bout this region. So when u mentioned, I felt happy that living in Nagpur for just 2-3 years ,u know about it(well at least something). I am not complaining or blaming anyone, it’s just that I’m often asked “which COUNTRY are u from?” Some obnoxious people are like,”Assam? Where is that?”. I mean, really? U don’t know in which country Assam is and I look like a foreigner? I am sorry if I have miss used your platform but I couldn’t keep it together.

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