Biswakarma Puja

Biswakarma (as pronounced in Eastern part of India - Assam, West Bengal and Orissa) or Vishwakarma (as pronounced in rest of India) is the only engineering god from about 330 million Hindu gods. Vishwa means the universe and Karma means work. Vishwakarma is considered as the architect of the universe. In Assam, West Bengal and Orissa, 17th of September (the Sankranti - last day of Bhada month) is celebrated as Biswakarma puja. People owning cars, motor bikes, factories, government engineering departments like PWD, END, Irrigation etc celebrate this puja.  I remember people owning bicycle and cycle-rickshraws too put garlands around their cycles on this day.

In my childhood days, we didn't have a car or bike or scooter. We owned three bicycles - used by my father, my brother and me. I think we also put some garlands in our bicycles. Deuta (father in Assamese) used to get invited by PWD and END departments for the Vishwakarma puja. Sometime my brother and I would accompany him to these offices in the afternoon. The evening used to be reserved for the big celebrations at Naba Bordoloi khura (uncle)'s residence. Bordoloi khura  was a lecturer of English in Morigaon college and was our neighbour. He was relatively wealthy in our neighbourhood and was the only person who owned an Ambassador car and one Bajaj scooter. (He was also the first person owning a color TV and a telephone connecttion). Bordoloi khura would invite all the families in our neighbourhood for evening snacks at his residence on the day of Vishwakarma puja. It was more like a dinner - prasad, luchi, bhaji, sweets etc.

Although we didn't celebrate Vishwakarma puja at our home, I always waited for the arrival of this festival with much excitement. Can you guess why? No, it is not because of the attraction of attending it in PWD office or at Bordoloi khura's home. But because Biswakarma puja heralded the onset of the festive season that would continue till January. In my small town of Morigaon, vendors would start selling balloons from Vishwakarma puja. In a few days from this, there will be Durga puja and Kati bihu in October. Then there will be Deepavali, Kali Puja, Christmas and New Year in November and December. In January, there would be Magh Bihu and then Na-khuwa (occasion to celebrate the first rice of the season..will write a blog on this sometime).

There was one more reason I liked Vishwakarma puja. It also brings the autumn season (sarat and hemanta ) - used to be my most favorite season. Rains would stop by then. End of summer and onset of winter. The night sky would be amazingly clear with full of stars.

Purpose of learning history

Why do we read history in school? What is the advantage of learning our past? What benefit do we get by learning what our forefathers did many hundred centuries back?

I feel the purpose of learning history is about knowing our base, knowing our roots. Another purpose of learning history is to learn from experience and not to commit the same mistakes someone did some years back.

But interestingly, history involves some politics too. History is written in such a way so as not to cause displeasure to the rulers. Sometime same history is written and told in different way to two different audiences.  (I know the same history is presented in different way in India and Pakistan!)

History usually tells us about lots of bad things also that happened in past - wars, massacres, loot, exploitation, rape etc. Many hundred years back, people were not so civilized. There were blood-thirsty kings who always wanted to expand their kingdoms. Some people were aggressors and some people were victims. In twenty first century when we read bloody history that my ancestors were attacked by their ancestors, should we seek revenge for those misdeeds committed many hundred years back and attack their descendant now? If we follow the principle of revenge, then India should now attack England because the English men came here in 1601 to do business but then colonized and looted my country for three hundred years. Or, whole of Asia should attack Mongolia because Genghis Khan created lot of terrors here. No normal person would ever think to do these. We can't undo what has happened in history. We shouldn't try to take revenge for something that happened in past. What has happened in history has happened. We should learn from it rather than seeking to undo events in history.

But the most important question is: should we seek judicial intervention now for some of the misdeeds of history? Will the judiciary be able to resolve it? I wonder!