Kira-Rani & Khichdi: Learn The History Of This Puja Staple

Stars, they're just like us! If you're looking to score some bhog-er khichdi at a neighbourhood Durga Puja pandal, so are some of your favourite celebs! Recently Kiara Advani and Rani Mukerji were spotted chatting over some khichdi during Saptami lunch, at the latter's family Puja. The Puja was also attended by other celebrities such as Imtiaz Ali, Nikhil Advani and Kajol (who happens to be Rani's cousin). The Durga Puja is a long-standing tradition in the Mukerji family and is usually organised by Rani's uncle Deb Mukherjee. 

Besides Kajol and Rani, the other famous members of the family like Tanisha Mukerjee and filmmaker Ayan Mukerji also attend the celebrations every year and serve the bhog prasad to the attendees. Interestingly, Khichdi is a staple at Durga Puja celebrations across the globe, be it Pujas in Kolkata and Mumbai or the Pujas celebrated abroad in UK or the States by non-residing Indians. And there's a very big reason behind it. Turns out, the khichdi is an integral part of Durga Puja's history in Bengal. 

Durga Puja and ‘Khichudi’

The tradition of community Durga Puja in Kolkata was started by Nabakrishna Deb, who started the Puja in his Sovabazar mansion, and was also a key conspirator against Nawab Siraj-ud-Doula. It's common knowledge that Siraj Ud Daula was ousted from Bengal after the Battle of Plassey. 

What most people may not know is that following this Naba Krishna Dev grew quite close to Lord Clive and became one of his close aides and his language translator. It was Deb who shared the idea of a Durga Puja with Clive and Sovabazar held a Puja in the year 1757. 

Other records show that the 'baro-yaari' puja was brought to Kolkata in 1832 by Raja Harinath of Cossimbazar, who performed the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Murshidabad from 1824 to 1831. Back then Durga Puja was commemorated quite differently and also had more stringent rituals. 

While the bhog was traditionally prepared by Brahmins, some records show that the bhog would vary depending upon the host of the Puja and their social standing. The Khichdi started featuring as bhog particularly in bigger Pujas, since it's easier to make a one-pot vegetarian medley for more than 500 people. 

Ashthami r Khichudi

The Bhoger khichudi which is served throughout the Puja, but particularly in Ashthami, is made with rice and lentils and does not traditionally have onions or garlic. Rice and lentils are both grains and have significance in Bengal's agrarian communities. The Nabanna Utsab, which celebrates a new harvest or ‘new rice’, is commemorated in the Bengali month of Agrahayana, and between the months of October and November. 

In rural agrarian communities, Khichdi is also a symbol of celebration during this thanksgiving festival, just like in Makar Sankranti. So it makes sense that khichdi was made in zamindar households during this period, and was doled out to the subjects. Author Rinku Ghosh traces the practice of a sarbojonin ('for all') Durga pujo bhog to the 1943 famine when the Bhattacharjee family of Howrah began distributing bhog to the people as part of their Durga Puja, post which the distribution of bhog was seen as a community service by the most zamindars. 

The word khichdi is believed to have come from the Sanskrit khiccha. The strategist Chanakya, khichdi cooked with one prastha (about 768 gm) of rice, 1/4th prastha of lentils, 1/62 prastha of salt, and 1/16 prastha of ghee constituted a well-balanced meal for a single person. The khichdi served in Ashthami mahabhog today is a mashed preparation of the short-grained gobindobhog rice and sona moong dal, along with a Bengali spice blend called panch phoron. Ashthami is considered a pivotal day in the Devi Paksha; according to scriptures, the puja performed on this day is intended to prepare the Goddess for her confrontation with Mahishasura. Serving of khichdi and payesh are considered especially significant on this day, considering they are both made of rice and have been historically deemed to be auspiscious food for all communities across Bengal, which is one of the most important rice-producing states in the country.