Muslim girl worshipped by Bengali family on Mahashtami

Tamal Dutta and his family on Sunday worshipped four-year-old Fatima, on Mahashtami, the most pious day of 'Devi Paksha' (the divine fortnight).

According to Hindu tradition, only a pre-puberty Bramhin girl can be worshipped as a Kumari.

The Dutta family have been holding Durga Puja since 2013 in their Arjunpur residence in North 24 Parganas district.

This year, the family decided to break away from traditions and worship little Fatima as Kumari, an honour reserved exclusively for minor girls of the Bramhin community.

"Earlier we worshipped only Bramhin girls. But, we believe Maa Durga is the mother of all. She does not belong to people of any one religion, caste or colour. That is why we decided to move away from tradition to send a message of communal harmony and inclusiveness," said Dutta.

Dutta, who works as an engineer in Kamarhati Municipality, got help from his colleague Mohammed Ibrahim in his endeavour. He suggested four-year-old niece Fatima, who lives with her parents in Agra.

Ibrahim convinced Fatima's parents for the ritual, after which she arrived with her mother for the ceremony.

The Dutta family has also worshipped a non-Bramhin Hindu girl as Kumari, the previous year.

Swami Vivekananda had also worshipped a four-year-old Kashmiri Muslim girl as Divine Mother at the Kheer Bhavani Temple on August 18,1898.