Gulabi Gang, a DB Block-based group, hosted an hour-long virtual show on agomoni, titled Bajlo pujor ghanta. The show brought together group members from different parts of the country.

Child artiste Sharanya Mitra was up first, pointing to the cheer in the vernal air which indicates the advent of Puja.

The most eye-catching segment of the show was Nabadurga, on the nine forms of the goddess worshiped during Navratri, who appeared to the chanting of stotras followed by a narration of the significance of each form.

Trident and lotus in hand, Rama Mitra, was Shailaputri, the first incarnation of Durga, who is the daughter of King Himalaya.

Indrani Basak logged in from Gurgaon as Brahmacharini, Durga’s meditative form. With a crescent moon on her forehead, Lakshmimoni Sen from Bangalore became Chandraghanta, signifying peace and prosperity.

One by one, the others made an appearance — Rinku Banerjee as Kushmanda, the creator of the universe; Mou Dubey as Skandomata, with a lotus in her hand eradicating fear from our minds; a sword-wielding Mohua De Sarkar as Katyayani, the slayer of Mahishasura...

The most striking appearance was that of Sonali Basak as Kalratri, the dark-complexioned destroyer of evil spirits who is said to contain the universe in her third eye. The two other forms — Mahagouri and Siddhidatri — were portrayed by Chandrani Mukherjee and Anjana Banerjee respectively.

Sharanya Mitra paid tribute to all nine forms of the goddess by dancing to the song Oi bajey monomajhe agomoni, followed by Sisire sisire sharad akashey.

The second phase started with DB Block resident Dhrubojyoti Sarkar chanting Durgastotra, followed by Priyanka Niyogi’s Bharatnatyam.
Teacher in a distance education institute, Kamalika Banerjee logged in from Delhi to sing and dance to a popular agomoni song Gouri elo dekhbe chalo. “It was really challenging for me to sing and dance together to such a fast song at my age, but I wanted to go back to my childhood days when artists like Jamuna Barua used to perform and sing together. It was exciting to perform all the way from Delhi with my DB Block friends,” the middle-aged lady told The Telegraph later.

Somdatta Basak, an IT professional posted in Gurgaon, and homemaker Indrani Basak presented a musical piece titled Matri rupeno sangsthita, with the message of victory of good over evil.

Septuagenerian Tarun Mukherjee impressed with his Chandi paath. “I perform Chandi paath every year on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami since the inception of Durga puja in our block. This chanting comes from my heart. This year, everything is uncertain so I didn’t want to miss this opportunity of chanting the mantras online,” said Mukherjee, a veterinarian by profession.

The concluding event was Mou Dubey’s recitation of the poem Abhijojon, written by Bidhiti Chakraborty and highlighting the present condition of women’s safety and urging women to protect themselves by learning self-defence.

“People are used to listening to Mahisashurmardini on the radio seven days ahead of Durga puja. Because Mahalaya happened way in advance, this year is an exception. Our attempt was to rekindle the essence of Mahalaya in our mind with Puja finally knocking on our doors. So we organised this show just a week ahead of Puja. To trigger that nostalgic feeling, we even played the signature tune of Akashvani Calcutta that we used to hear since our childhood to begin our virtual show,” said Sonali Basak, the organiser and director.