Mirzapur, Oct 18 (bdnews24.com) – It is not the celebration of Durga Puja, but the celebration of religious harmony that suffuses people in Mirzapur.
So says Protibha Mutshuddy, former principal of Bharateswari Homes, a girls' school, some 50 km northwest of Dhaka.
"We don't think of the Puja here along religious lines. People from different religions come and celebrate," Prothiba, herself a Buddhist, told bdnews24.com.
"You will see many Muslims come here even though they don't take part in the prayers or other rituals," she said as she instructed a woman to take care of the guests.
The temple that was built of mud 250 years ago is now a concrete building on the bank of the small Louhajang River flowing through Mirzapur.
Hundreds of people—many from the capital—gathered on the second day of the five-day Puja celebrations.
Organisers have arranged food, which they call "offerings" for the guests. Those who serve food are no other than the students of Bharateshwari Homes.
"This is not only for the Puja. It happens quite often," said Mahmooda Saeed Khuku, a former student of Bharateshwari Homes, as she sat at the dining table in the middle of the dimly-lit room, a few metres apart from the temple.
The basic building buzzed with guests—mostly women.
One name emerged as a constant invisible presence in the thick of celebrations: Ranadaprasad Saha, who was killed by the Pakistani army in 1971.
The philanthropist and patron of learning better known as RP Saha set up Bharateswari Homes, now being run under Kumudini Welfare Trust, in Mirzapur of Tangail district.
"He called me mother before he was taken away and killed. And as a mother I took care of everything he had left behind," Prothiba said, looking at the grey sky through the mango trees—apparently distracted by the flood of memories.
As she talked, RP Saha's eldest daughter Bijoya Saha, 80 years old, arrived in a wheelchair. Prothiba stood in respect as she passed by. Many others—all in new clothes—nodded in similar respect.
To promote women's education in a country with a low literacy rate and more so for women, RP Saha founded in 1944 a fully residential school in Mirzapur and named it Bharateswari Bidyapith after Bharateswari Devi, his grandmother.
In 1945 it was renamed Bharateswari Homes.
"It's a traditional matter. No. It's more than that. It's a dream," said Rajiv Prasad Saha, grandson of RP Saha, a soft-spoken 39-year-old man, who looked elegant in traditional clothes—dhuti and punjabi.
"The Durga Puja brings us together. It is an opportunity to connect with others. It's our lifeline."
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