Question

(A2) News Report based on the given headline: Prepare a newspaper report based on the following headline.Kali Puja in Kolkata.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Kali Puja is the time when Bengalis get to leave the Durga Puja blues behind and get into a celebratory mood yet again. With Diwali lights and diyas in the backdrop, the goddess is worshipped in the dead of the night with a plethora of traditional rituals. And of course, like any Bengali festival, food is an inseparable part of Kali Puja. And apart from the traditional bhog and noibedyo, the puja menu also includes a ‘vegetarian’ mutton dish. 108 noibedyo and bhogFor Kolkata-based teacher Manasi Mukherjee, celebrating Kali Puja at home is an age-old family tradition. “The tradition goes back decades when my family used to live in Khulna. On the previous night, we observe sanjam (abstinence) and have only vegetarian food. Our puja starts at midnight with an elaborate bhog of khichuri, fries of five seasonal vegetables, torkari with seasonal veggies, chutney, payesh, sooji and luchi. Along with that, we offer 108 fruits and other items as noibedyo,” she said.

A distinctive aspect of Kali Puja is the tradition of preparing niramish mangsho or vegetarian mutton without using onion and garlic. The meat of the goats sacrificed on Kali Puja night is cooked in a special style. “In Bengali tradition, niramish mangsho is offered to goddesses twice — once during Sandhi Puja on Ashtami and Nabami in Durga Puja and once on Kali Puja. In Bengal, due to the Vaishnavite influence, we traditionally avoid garlic and onion in our veg dishes. Hence, the meat is cooked without onion and garlic. But nowadays, mangsho is rarely offered during Durga Puja though it’s still common during Kali Puja,” said food blogger Indrajit Lahiri.

Elaborating on the preparation style, recipe chronicler Debjani Chatterjee Alam said, “Traditionally, this mutton used to be cooked with ginger and asafoetida or hing. These days, we use curd. Typically, the sacrificial mutton is not washed but wiped with some edible leaf. The recipe and cooking process, however, varies for each representation of Kali.”