Agomoni (आगमन स्तुति : আগমনী গান) are genres of Sanskrit/Bengali songs which serves as an invocation or invitation for the mother goddess to descend to Earth. This invitation is extended through the recitation of sacred mantras.
In the early morning of Amavasya (Mahalaya), people gather to pray to Goddess Durga, asking her to come to Earth and protect them from all evils.
Mahishasuramarddini (महिषासुरमर्दिनी : মহিষাসুরমর্দিনী) is a widely popular early Bengali special dawn radio programme that has been broadcasting since 1931 on All India Radio (AIR) in Indian state West Bengal. It is a one-and-a-half-hour audio montage of Chaṇḍipāaṭh (চণ্ডীপাঠ : चंडी पाठ) recitation from the scriptural verses of Śrī Śrī Chaṇḍi or Durga Saptashati, Bengali devotional songs, classical music and a dash of acoustic melodrama. The program has been translated into Hindi set to similar orchestration and is broadcast at the same time for a pan-Indian audience. This programme is aired every year at day-break on Mahalaya. The programme, which started off as a live-performance, has been broadcast in its pre-recorded format since 1966. However, its great popularity remains undiminished even today over 90 years later.
This program has become synonymous with Mahalaya (महालया : মহালয়া) which is celebrated to usher the Devipaksha lunar fortnight and the Durga Puja. To this day, most of Bengal and East Indians fond of the programme wakes up in the breezily pre dawn hours, 4 am to be precise, on the Mahalaya day to tune into the Mahishasuramarddini broadcast. Presently the recordings are available as audio cassettes and Compact Disks from HMV-RPG which has obtained the rights from All India Radio. The CD version (as of 2002) contains 19 tracks.
Birendra Krishna Bhadra, who will always be remembered for making Mahalaya memorable to one and all, is the voice behind the “Mahisasura Mardini.” He recites the holy verses and tells the story of the descent of Durga to earth. It was on the day of Mahalaya, the beginning of “Devipaksha”, that the gods and goddesses woke up to prepare themselves for Durga Puja. In 1931, Mahalaya was first broadcast over the radio in Akashvani, Calcutta. The programme was organised by Pankaj Kumar Mallik, Premankur Aatorthi, Birendra Krishna Bhadra, Nripendra Krishna Mukhopadhyay and Raichand Boral.
As the recital begins, the serene morning air resonates with the long drawn sound of the sacred conch shell, followed by a tune in Raga Malkosh, which ultimately leads to the start of the programme with the prayer to Goddess Chandi. Immediately an atmosphere is created full of assurance, respect and universal love and peace. This way, Mahisasurmardini took a permanent place in the heart of Bengali as well as Indian culture.