Durgotsav, as it is called in Bengal, starts from Mahalaya ? this is the day that Godess Durga is supposed to have started her journey from her husband's house in Mount Kailash in the Himalayas to come to her mother's place in Bengal accompanied by her children. On this auspicious day, early in the morning, at four o'clock to be precise, a two-hour-long program is broadcast in Bengali from Akashvani Kolkata. A translated version in Hindi is subsequently transmitted from all other important radio stations. The translation is restricted to only the text. The beautiful memorable songs are left untouched. Many of the artistes are no longer in our midst but their recorded voices still reverberate in each and every Bengali house on Mahalaya day. Titled 'MAHISASURMARDINI' (which means 'the slayer of the demon-in-the-guise-of-a-buffalo') this program narrates how Durga was conceived, how she was armed with a variety of weapons given by the Gods to destroy the demon and how she achieved her goal in bringing peace and happiness to the World.

Since the early 1930s, Mahalaya has come to associate itself with an early morning radio program called Mahisasura Mardini or 'The Annihilation of the Demon.' This All India Radio (AIR) programme is a beautiful audio montage of recitation from the scriptural verses of Chandi Kavya', Bengali devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama.

A two-hour pre-recorded cassette titled 'Mahisasurmardini' was released by the Gramophone Company of India (Ltd), Calcutta in 1983. In this cassette, recitation of the shlokas in fluent Sanskrit is by Birendra Krishna Bhadra and music direction is by Pankaj Kumar Mallick. The live broadcast of this musical programme took place for the first time way back in 1932!! Birendra Krishna Bhadra was only 28 years old at that time.

In this context, it will not be too much to say that one man who'll always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all every year is BIRENDRA KRISHNA BHADRA, the deathlessly magical voice behind the Mahisasura Mardini. The legendary narrator recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth, in his inimitable style. Though Birendra Krishna Bhadra has long passed away, but his recorded voice still forms the core of the Mahalaya program of the All India Radio. His vital, vivid, sonorous and reverberating voice, makes the Mahalaya recital for two hours, really captivating and mesmerizing for every household, filling it with the divine aura of his narration. This inspiring programme was conceived by Pankaj Kumar Mallick (1905-1978) singer of Rabindra Sangeet or TAGORE SONGS, composer and music director. He worked with the Kolkata radio station for about half a century, from 1927 to 1975. Pankaj Kumar who helped to launch the musical feature, Mahisasuramardini, in 1929 to celebrate DURGA PUJA, and his music direction in the programme was hailed as the work of a genius. Pankaj Kumar Mallick and Birendra Krishna Bhadra together made this Durga Pooja programme glorious and memorable.

The celebration of Durga Puja in India goes back to the dawn of history. To conclude in the words of Annie Besant: 'After a study of more than 40 years of the great religions of the world, I find none so perfect, so scientific, none so philosophical and none so spiritual as that great religion popularly known by the name of Hinduism. Make no mistake, without Hinduism, India has no future. Hinduism is the soil into which India's roots are stuck and torn out of that she will inevitably wither as a tree torn out from its place and if Hindus do not maintain Hinduism who shall save it? If India's own children do not cling to her faith who shall guard it? India alone can save India and INDIA AND HINDUISM ARE ONE.'