Durga Puja at the Mukherjee family in Birbhum’s Mirati will witness a break in a tradition of at least 40 years this time.

There will be no Chandi Path on Ashtami as former president Pranab Mukherjee who used to recite it passed away in New Delhi on August 31.

Pranab, the eldest member of the Mukherjee family, is believed to have set the four-decade-old tradition of reciting hymns from the book of Chandi on Ashtami and every year, a large audience would turn up to hear the veteran politician’s recitation of the shlokas glorifying goddess Chandi.

Sri Sri Chandi, a mythological text containing 700 verses on goddess Chandi, is part of the Markandeya Mahapurana. The verses narrate the tales of goddess Chandi fighting and destroying the evil forces of Madhu, Kaithabha, Mahishasura and Shumbha and Nishumbha.

Pranab used to visit his ancestral home in Mirati, around 220km from Calcutta, during Bengal’s biggest festival and would spend all four days of Durga Puja by taking part in the rituals.

Even in his heyday as a Congress leader and Union minister, Pranab would reach Mirati by the afternoon of Mahasasthi and supervise the beginning of Puja every year.

“Even after he became the President, he never missed Durga Puja for a single year. He would monitor the puja rituals on all four days. The puja had become special for us because of his presence,” said a family member.

A family member of the Mukherjees said the former President’s absence was being felt at the puja this year.

“We cannot imagine Chandi Path without him. So, we decided not to have Chandi Path this year,” said a family member.

“The priest used to do all the formalities but on Ashtami, my father spent hours reciting the hymns. As my father used to recite hymns from the book of Chandi, in his absence, we have decided to exclude the Ashtami ritual. I or any other member of my family will not take part in any puja rituals because of my father’s death,” said Abhijit Mukherjee, the former Jangipur MP and son of the former President.

“Next year, I will try to bring an expert who can recite the hymns of Chandi. The ritual has been put on hold at least for this year,” he added.

Pranab’s presence at the puja used to attract hundreds of visitors, who would throng the remote village to catch a glimpse of the man.

“Since my days as a student leader, Durga Puja meant the one held at the Mukherjee household in Mirati. Those of us visiting the Mukherjee household for years during Durga Puja will miss him at the puja mandap and his recitation of Sanskrit mantras,” said Milton Rashid, district Congress president and MLA from Birbhum’s Hasan.

Villagers recalled how Mukherjee would become “one of their own” during the Puja days. “Everyone had the privilege to meet him personally during Durga Puja and the protocol associated with the high office he held never came in the way,” said a Mirati villager.

“Pranab babu used to sit in the courtyard of his house and interact with people who would come to meet him. He could recall the names of many villagers as he knew them personally. We will miss him this year,” said Jayanta Chakraborty, a resident of Kirnahar and a regular during the Puja in Mirati.

Prabhakar Bandopadhyay, who teaches English at Mukherjee’s alma mater Kirnahar Sibachandra High School, said: “Since my childhood, I had been hearing his Chandipath. There will be a break in the tradition for us too.”

Boat ban withdrawn

The Taki municipality on Friday withdrew the ban on traditional boat rides on the Ichhamati river for immersion of idols on Dashami this year.

The blanket ban had been announced in view of the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

While announcing the withdrawal of the ban, Taki municipal chairman Somnath Mukherjee said only 10 persons would be allowed to ride a boat with the deity.

“For a personal ride on the river, only five people are allowed for a small boat and 10 for a big one,” said the chairman.

Additional reporting by Subhasish Chaudhuri