Mahalaya, the last day of Pitri Paksha, ushers in the festival of Durga Puja. And like every year, people across West Bengal, and indeed many other parts of the country, will wake up at 4 am to tune in to the radio to listen to the more than an hour long Mahishasur Mardini.
This is believed to be the day that goddess Durga descended to earth and the dates vary every year. For the uninitiated, Mahishasur Mardini is a Bengali and Sanskrit radio program that has been broadcast since 1931 and narrates the story of how Goddess Durga descended to earth and defeated Mahishasura.
While COVID-19 may have curbed many a celebration in recent months, this is one occasion that does not require you to leave the comfort of your home. And if you'd prefer to hear the programme after you catch up on sleep, well, not to worry, we've got that covered too. It must also
Akashvani Radio
All India Radio, or more specifically Akashvani Radio will be holding a "special dawn programme" for the occasion. This will commence at 4 am and can be caught on their 'NewsOnAir' app or on airlivenews24x7, MW 366.3 Mtrs / 819 KHz, FM 100.1 MHz.
On YouTube
In case you prefer to (or accidentally) sleep through the early morning programme, you can always catch it on YouTube. Here, we have attached the link for the Mahishasur Mardini program that will be aired live by All India Radio. You can also download it and listen to it from any number of other sites.
On Television and on other Radio channels
While the AIR programme is one of the the most common ways to listen to the program, you can also catch it on several TV channels or on other radio channels. It must be mentioned that it is more likely to be found on channels available in West Bengal. Bengali channels such as Zee Bangla, Star Jalsa and Colors Bangla have in the past run the program.
