Mahalaya is an auspicious occasion that marks the arrival of Durga, the goddess of supreme power, seven days before the main Durga Puja festival begins. It signifies the end of Shradh or Pitru Paksha and the beginning of Devi Paksha.


It is a time when Bengalis all around the world wake up to the immortal chants of Chandipaath by the legendary Birendra Krishna Bhadra, and the heart-touching melodies of 'Mahishasuramardini' composition hailing Goddess Durga who annihilated the buffalo-headed demon called Mahishasur.


Even now, most of Bengal wakes up at the crack of the dawn on Mahalaya day to listen to the Mahishasuramardini broadcast.


Mahishasuramardini is an hour-long audio montage that includes Bengali devotional songs, classical music, a little acoustic melodrama, and Chandipaath. The programme is also broadcast simultaneously in Hindi for a pan-Indian audience, with a similar orchestration. All India Radio broadcasts this programme every year before dawn. The show, which originally debuted as a live performance, has been aired since 1966 in its pre-recorded format. However, even today, more than 90 years later, its immense popularity is still unabated.


Birendra Krishna Bhadra: The Voice Behind Mahishasuramarddini


Born in Ahiritola, in erstwhile Calcutta, Birendra Krishna Bhadra was a radio broadcaster, playwright, actor, narrator and theatre director. He had worked for the All India Radio, India's national radio broadcaster, for several years during its early days, starting 1930s, and during this period he produced and adapted several plays.


Bhadra, who is the voice behind Mahishasuramardini, will always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable for everyone. He recites the sacred verses and narrates the account of Durga's descent on Earth.


The tradition began in the year 1931 when Mahalaya was first broadcast over the radio in Akashvani, Calcutta. With the beautiful kaash flowers gradually shrouding the greenry all over, this radio broadcast of Mahishasuramardini just sets the tone for the onset of the festivities. Back then, the entire event was organised by Pankaj Kumar Mallik, Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhyay, and Raichand Boral.


Years have passed since the great Birendra Krishna Bhadra's death, and the show's live broadcast has long since ceased. However, the tradition continues, and people irrespective of their age, gender and other biases, rise up in the early morning hours of Mahalaya to listen to a pre-recorded rendition of the audio-drama.


Bhadra's rendition of the recitation was so famous that when the voice of noted Bengali actor Uttam Kumar was used for the show in 1976, it did not go well with the audience, and AIR had to bring back restored to Birendra Krishna Bhadra's original version.


Composition Of Mahishasuramardini 


Woven around a mythological theme and accentuated with Vedic mantras, the work stands as a timeless composition. The script is written by Bani Kumar, and narrated by Birendra Krishna Bhadra; while Pratima Bandopadhyay, Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukhopadhyay, Utpala Sen, Shyamal Mitra, and Supriti Ghosh lent their voices to the melodies composed by Pankaj Mullick.


The tranquil morning air is filled with the long drawn sound of the blowing of conch as the recital begins, followed by a tune in Raga Malkosh, which eventually leads to the opening of the programme with a prayer to Goddess Chandi. 


When Mahishasuramardini recital was broadcast live, artistes would arrive to the radio station after midnight to prepare for the show. It is said the studio would be decorated with flowers, and incense sticks would be lit to create an atmosphere of spirituality. Every performer was expected to arrive in clean, washed clothes after taking a bath. Women performers would wear white sarees with crimson borders, while males would wear dhoti-kurtas. Before the performance, conch would be blown three times.


All of this generated an ambience of Durga Puja for everyone present there, and this feeling was effortlessley transferred into the performance.


How To Listen To Mahalaya 2022 LIVE


All India Radio, or Akashvani Radio, has a "special dawn programme" on Mahalaya every year. On Sunday, the one-and-a-half-hour-long Bangla recital will begin at 4 am, and you can catch it on FM Rainbow, and Akashvani AIR's YouTube channel. 










The Hindi and Sanskrit recitals can be heard on Indraprasth, FM Gold and Akashvani AIR' YouTube channel.


Several TV channels also air a Mahalaya programme in the morning.


And in case you are not a morning person, or miss the dawn show, there are ways to catch up with it during the day.


Many YouTube channels have the original recording.


ABP Live wishes all of you a very happy Durga Puja.