Kali Puja
Kali pooja is celebrated in West Bengal. As Laksmi Pooja is performed on Diwali in North India , Kali Pooja is celebrated with great enthusiasm in West Bengal. People clean their houses and also white wash their houses before Kali Pooja. People also buy new dresses to wear on Kali pooja. This is the biggest festival for Bengalis after Durga Pooja.
People start decorating their houses with flowers and Vandanvars of Mango leaves. Rangoli patterns are also created at main gate and at the Pooja place. People also do lighting all around their houses with earthen lamps as well as electric lamps. Godess Kali is one of the incarnations of Godess Durga. She has fierce face and terrifying looks. She wears Sari of deer skin, a garland of skulls. She is having a severed head in one hand and her sword in the other hand. Her one feet is resting on the chest of Lord Shiva. She took this incarnation for devastating the evil. According to Hindu mythology, there were two demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. They had got very powerful. They conquered earth and heaven "The Kingdom of Indra". They throw him out of heaven. Then Indra and other Devtas worshiped Godess Durga to help them and gime themback their Heaven. They also asked her for rescuing all of them and human being from the cruelty and tortures of Demons.
Then Godess went for war with demons. At this time mother Durga got Furious and Godess Kali took birth from hear For head. During the war Godess Kali were killing the demons army by being omnipresent. For every demon there was a Godess Kali in the battle field. She was taking off their heads and sipping their blood and making the garland of their heads. The demons got terrified as they haven't seen such a horrifying scenes so far in their lives.
There was an army chief Raktbija of demons army. When godess attacked him with her sword , he turned into as many clones of him as many drops of blood fall on the ground. At a time the whole army was looking of his clones the Godess Kali enlarged and spread her tongue and cut off the head of Raktbij and drank all the blood of him and didn't let even a single drop to fell on the ground.
At last Godess also killed Shumbha and Nishumbaha. Even after killing the demon kings she continued her blood shedding spree. Then Lord Shiva came into her way and fall himself into her feet when she stumbled over him , her tongue came out of his mouth out of shy. The reason behind his shyness was that she happened to stumbled over the chest of his husband. This is the image of Godess Kali which has been worshiped. This day is celebrated every year on the new moon day (Amavasya) of Kartik month of Hindu calender. This pooja is performed at mid night as mothers color is black it is believed that she got pleased when worshiped at Amavasya and this day said to be the darkest amavasya of the year.
