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Special
classroom for Kolkata priests ahead of Durga Puja
by Soma
Mitra
Kolkata:
Special training is being provided to priests
in Kolkata ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja, the biggest
annual festival of Bengalis devoted to Goddess Durga.
The need for providing such training was felt after
noticing many a priests not paying due attention on
their pronunciation skills of Sanskrit-based Shlokas.
Jayanta Kushari, an expert priest, is conducting the
training programme where trainees of all age groups
have enrolled themselves to acquire proper knowledge
and work upon various areas of improvement. The training
program, which is being conducted at Sovabazar Raj
Bari in Kolkata from August 26 to September 3, is
focusing on improving pronunciation through voice
modulations. According to the trainer Jayanta Kushari,
Durga Puja is partly known for its religious fervour
and the ceremony involved. "Durga Puja has two parts;
one is the ceremony and the other is about the real
Puja. What we are witnessing these days is that people
are more interested in ceremonies. What is missing
in Pujas is proper pronunciation and it needs to be
paid attention to," said Jayanta Kushari, Professor
and an expert priest. Loudspeakers are used these
days at most of the Puja Pandals or makeshift temples
while singing the prayers or hymns for reaching out
to people living at far off places. It disappoints
the devout if any priest is heard pronouncing a Shloka
or verse improperly or singing hymns badly. It spoils
the charm of attending the Puja and hurt religious
sentiments.
Meanwhile,
apart from hymns and Shlokas, the priests are also
taught about various Durga Puja related legends. The
classroom sessions are aimed at improving knowledge
of the priests who perform Durga Puja at various pandals
or makeshift temples. "Here, we are taught topics
related to Durga Puja. For instance, like how the
deity got its name," said Bibhas Chakrabarty, a young
priest. Priests attending the training programme are
hopeful that they would enhance their personal knowledge
which would be beneficial for them in their work.
"I'm very curious to see how Jayanta Kushari has organised
this special class and how he stresses on pronunciation
of Sanskrit words, talks about grammar and richness
of the language. I attend his classes wherever he
organises them. I'm into this profession for the last
50 years. The way he sings the hymns and his pronunciation
is not seen anywhere else," said Ajit Chakrabarty,
an elderly priest Jayanta Kushari has also organised
such training in other parts of the country like Delhi,
Gurgaon and in Uttar Pradesh to revive the ceremony.
-Sept 1,
2008
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