Pujo Gyan

Pujo Words: A Durga Puja Glossary

New to Pujo, or explaining it to a friend? These are the words you will hear in every pandal.

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Adda: Long, lazy, passionate conversation with friends, a Bengali art form at its peak during Pujo.
Agamani: Songs of the goddess's arrival, sung from the mother Menaka's point of view.
Alpana: Floor designs drawn with rice paste, especially for Lakshmi Puja.
Anjali (pushpanjali): Offering flowers to the goddess while repeating mantras after the priest, most of all on Ashtami morning.
Arati: Worship with lamps, incense, conch, flowers and a yak-tail fan, waved before the goddess to the dhak.

Bhog: Food offered to the goddess and then shared as prasad: khichuri, labra, beguni, chutney, payesh.
Bijoya: The greetings after immersion: pronam to elders, hugs, sweets and 'Shubho Bijoya'.
Bisarjan: Immersing the idol in a river or pond on Dashami (or later), ending the Puja.
Bodhon: The 'awakening' of the goddess on Shashthi evening at a bel tree.
Bonedi bari: Old aristocratic family homes with their own centuries-old pujas.
Boron dala: The tray used by married women to bid the goddess farewell: sindoor, paan, sweets, lamp, conch bangles.

Dhak: The big barrel drum of Durga Puja, slung from the shoulder and played with two thin sticks, decorated with white feathers.
Dhaki: A dhak player. Many come to the city from villages, gathering at Sealdah station to be hired.
Dhunuchi: A clay incense burner filled with coconut husk and dhuno resin; dancing with it is dhunuchi naach.

Ghot: A sacred water pot, marked with sindoor and topped with mango leaves, in which the goddess is invoked.

Kash phool: Tall white kans grass that blooms in autumn: the sign that Pujo is near.
Kasor: A bronze gong played alongside the dhak.
Kola Bou: The Nabapatrika: nine plants bundled and dressed in a sari, placed beside Ganesh.
Kumari Puja: Worship of a young girl as the living goddess on Ashtami.
Kumartuli: The potters' quarter in north Kolkata where most idols are made.

Pandal: The temporary structure, from bamboo and cloth to elaborate art installations, that houses the idol.
Pandal hopping (thakur dekha): Going from pandal to pandal, often all night, to see the idols.
Para: Neighbourhood. Every para has its puja, and its pride.
Pratima: The idol of the goddess.
Probashi: Bengalis living outside Bengal; a probashi puja is one held far from home.
Pujo: How Bengalis say 'Puja'. For most, 'Pujo' simply means Durga Puja.

Sandhi Puja: The 48-minute worship at the junction of Ashtami and Navami, with 108 lotuses and lamps.
Sarbojanin: 'For everyone': a community puja funded by the neighbourhood.
Shankha (shankh): The conch, blown at arati and auspicious moments.
Shola: Soft white pith used to make the idol's ornaments and crowns.
Sindoor Khela: On Dashami, married women smear each other with vermilion after bidding the goddess farewell.

Theme pujo: A pandal and idol built around an artistic idea, from village crafts to social messages.
Tithi: A lunar day. Puja days follow tithis, not calendar dates, which is why a day can span two dates.

Uludhwani (ulu): The high, trilling call made by women at auspicious moments.