Durga Puja!
Today is Navami, the last day of Durga Puja...and this is my second puja away from Home.
And guess what, I didnt feel a thing-none of the excitement, none of the anticipation and none of the energy that made these four days of puja the highlight of the year for us...being away from home takes away the annual ritualistic cyle...you begin to have a pieceameal approach to life....'hanging by the moment', eh?
For the uninitated, Durga Puja is THE festival for bengalis!...its the time of the year, when this almost dead race comes into a fresh lease on life. Its what is fuelling half of Calcutta's GDP anyway, and its the reason why every bengali household sends their child to learning singing, dancing and all such 'cultural pursuits' so that they can show their skills off at the local para function!
I was no different!..my mom would have her 3 trophy daughters all ready for the annual show, year on year!...singin, dancing, acting-you name it, we'd done it...had it been possible, we would have probably collected the dough, made the durga protima and done the puja ourselves!
But seriously, you need to visit Bengali-land for the pujas, its something to experience. Every nook and corner of every nook and corner has a puja of their own. And every pandal, is a statement. I mean, its amazing there so much creativity left in Bengal in spite of the all-stifling 29 years of Communist rule. Just a pointer to what we could have been and what we have become.....and change is always playing 'hard to get' with this ailing place!
All the babas and the mas out in their revelry, all the young ones out to see and be seen-its a show of the highest order. I am sure if you take a poll and see how many love stories started and ended during the pujas-you can beat 'A Suitable Boy' in size and drama!....Maddox Square is the haunt of the younsters, man....the average age of that place must be not more than 25 years...all those nearing 35 or more, slowly slink out of this haat of youth...they have been here way too often, and as if by natural selection they dont fit anymore!...
I dont miss Durga Puja, so much that I would do anything to go back....but the longing is just one notch lower than that!...I miss the people, my people...I miss cracking crazy jokes in Bengali in front of people you meet once in the year, at this time...I miss dressing up, compulsorily...and I miss my mom's food during this time...I miss hanging out with my sisters....I miss pandal hopping sitting atop a mill van, from 9p.m. to 9 a.m......I miss the festivity....I miss home...nothing can come close to the place you have grown up in....nothing can match the innocence of the memories...and nothing can take the place of the characters you saw around you!
This wasnt supposed to be this nostalgic....I thought I would write something about Durga Puja, since I am no longer in the thick of things...but lo!
Till next time, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later!
And guess what, I didnt feel a thing-none of the excitement, none of the anticipation and none of the energy that made these four days of puja the highlight of the year for us...being away from home takes away the annual ritualistic cyle...you begin to have a pieceameal approach to life....'hanging by the moment', eh?
For the uninitated, Durga Puja is THE festival for bengalis!...its the time of the year, when this almost dead race comes into a fresh lease on life. Its what is fuelling half of Calcutta's GDP anyway, and its the reason why every bengali household sends their child to learning singing, dancing and all such 'cultural pursuits' so that they can show their skills off at the local para function!
I was no different!..my mom would have her 3 trophy daughters all ready for the annual show, year on year!...singin, dancing, acting-you name it, we'd done it...had it been possible, we would have probably collected the dough, made the durga protima and done the puja ourselves!
But seriously, you need to visit Bengali-land for the pujas, its something to experience. Every nook and corner of every nook and corner has a puja of their own. And every pandal, is a statement. I mean, its amazing there so much creativity left in Bengal in spite of the all-stifling 29 years of Communist rule. Just a pointer to what we could have been and what we have become.....and change is always playing 'hard to get' with this ailing place!
All the babas and the mas out in their revelry, all the young ones out to see and be seen-its a show of the highest order. I am sure if you take a poll and see how many love stories started and ended during the pujas-you can beat 'A Suitable Boy' in size and drama!....Maddox Square is the haunt of the younsters, man....the average age of that place must be not more than 25 years...all those nearing 35 or more, slowly slink out of this haat of youth...they have been here way too often, and as if by natural selection they dont fit anymore!...
I dont miss Durga Puja, so much that I would do anything to go back....but the longing is just one notch lower than that!...I miss the people, my people...I miss cracking crazy jokes in Bengali in front of people you meet once in the year, at this time...I miss dressing up, compulsorily...and I miss my mom's food during this time...I miss hanging out with my sisters....I miss pandal hopping sitting atop a mill van, from 9p.m. to 9 a.m......I miss the festivity....I miss home...nothing can come close to the place you have grown up in....nothing can match the innocence of the memories...and nothing can take the place of the characters you saw around you!
This wasnt supposed to be this nostalgic....I thought I would write something about Durga Puja, since I am no longer in the thick of things...but lo!
Till next time, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later!
posted by Shubh at 9:52 PM
7 Comments:
Dont worry, the bengali food here tonight will definitely make u feel better..now that u r in charge of the cooking arrangements
PS: After knowing that u aresupervising, I am thinking if I should skip tonight's dinner :P
Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you're using? I'm looking to start my own blog in the near future but I'm having a difficult time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something completely unique.
P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
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