Another Puja has come and sadly, now gone. As it does every year, the four days of heady celebration (culminating on Sunday, 21st October) have left behind a terribly empty feeling, an equivalent of a withdrawal symptom.
Durga Puja is the biggest festival in Bengal. Its significance is not restricted to the religious aspect only. It is a celebration for the senses and the emotions. For four days the city of Kolkata is lit up with brilliant lights. Puja pandals (temporary structures where the worship takes place) sprout up all over the city - some done to a particular 'theme' and more modern, others retaining years old traditions and artistic styles. People descend on the streets all day and all night long dressed in new clothes. Puja also means a gastronomic extravaganza with everybody from the street food vendor to the 5 star restaurateur doing brisk business all day long.
Puja also means coming together of friends and families. Bengalis all over the world, wherever they are, wish to come back to their homes at this time. The lucky ones who make it feel special, the ones who don't - well, lets not dwell on their agony.
Personally for me, this Puja went like a dream. Most of my closest friends from school-days were in Kolkata. We celebrated like we always do - with good food! The meal at Sanjeev Kapur's Ivory (formerly Grain of Salt) on Saptami night was especially memorable. We also went out to Waldorf's on Park Street for Chinese food and Orchid's (a favourite small place at Elgin Road) for momo's, among others. And then of course, close friends coming together means one very special thing for Bengali's - "adda" (a very rough equivalent of what others would call 'good conversation').
Then this Sunday, it has all ended with Bijoya Dashami. The festivities are now over, my friends have gone back to the cities they work and it is back to mundane life. That's how it is every year - 4 days passing like a heady dream and then ending leaving one heavy hearted. But there is also hope for the future - idols (Bengali: 'protima's) are submerged in the Ganges amidst chants of 'Aashchey Bachor Abaar Hobey' (rough translation: 'Till we celebrate again next year')
Then this Sunday, it has all ended with Bijoya Dashami. The festivities are now over, my friends have gone back to the cities they work and it is back to mundane life. That's how it is every year - 4 days passing like a heady dream and then ending leaving one heavy hearted. But there is also hope for the future - idols (Bengali: 'protima's) are submerged in the Ganges amidst chants of 'Aashchey Bachor Abaar Hobey' (rough translation: 'Till we celebrate again next year')
Wishing everyone Subho Bijoya - let the festive season bring you happiness and joy :-)
9 comments:
Waoww.. Very well captured shots of Durga Puja. I guess I missed the main fun as I havent seen Kolkata's puja :-(
Nice narration and yes I am also feeling bit sad now, "Asche Bochor abar hobe" - etai asa.
Subho Bijoya Ananda...the pics are just awesome & I can really feel your thoughts as it the same with me here...but as they say....Aschey Bachar Abar Hobe....Have a nice festive season!
Nice post and beautiful pictures Ananda. Thank you.
With my interest in culture of different places, I wish and hope to spend some days in Kolkata during the Durga Puja holidays to participate in what you describe so well as the "celebration for the senses and the emotions."
Continue the festive spirit in your heart. Aashchey bachor abaar hobey. :)
celine
@ Pijush - that's fine, I guess everyone wants to spend the time at home with their family :-)
@ Kalyan - thanks for your comments
@ Celine - yes, please do visit next year. i am sure you will be blown over by the sensory overload :-)
Thank you Ananda. After such a sweet invitation, I have to be in Kolkata next October.
But why are the emotions ignored? LOL
@ Celine: At the risk of sounding parochial here, I daresay that you need to be a Bengali (or at the very least a Kolkata resident) to fully appreciate the emotional nuances of Durga Puja :-))
If you see and feel it once, I am sure the next time you will get sentimental about missing it :-)
A good warning Ananda and I understand your point of view. However, I believe that I don't need to be a Bengali or a Kolkatan to enjoy the Durga Puja, also as far as my emotions are concerned.
I say this with certainty since am the kind who gets fully involved with anything I put my heart into, whether its enjoying the scenic beauty of nature or steeping into the culture of a certain place, whether I'm on the heights of the great Himalayas at 13,000 feet or engage in the fervour of a festive occasion in a remote corner of India. My interest in culture is enough to satiate my yearning and having widely travelled, I know what it is to celebrate life, wherever I am. The Indian spirit dwells in me and that itself, I feel, is sufficient.
Your comments?
@ Celine - Ah, now I know that I did sound a little bit parochial or at least exclusive :-)
I am sure everyone will enjoy the Durga Pujas, you more so with your keen interest in exploring other cultures. But there is something about Puja that stirs a separate chain of emotions in someone who has grown up with it.
Being a Bengali (or a Kolkatan), there are certain emotions that get associated to certain events both before, during and after Puja. For example, you start getting a whiff of the excitement when Vishwakarma Puja happens (I guess 3 weeks or so before the Pujas). That's the day when everyone used to fly kites (not so much anymore, or maybe the kids do these days on PlayStation WorldKite III !).
Then the feeling sets in even more when Mahalaya happens (you must have read about it in Kalyan's blog). There used to be this ritual of listening to the radio at wee hours of the morning on Mahalaya. This was also the day when the school holidays used to start, and the fun began in earnest :-)
There are more such examples where even a familiar sound ('dhhak' or drums playing), or a familiar smell ('dhhuno' or incense) will trigger a million associations and memories.
And believe me, that feeling is magnified when a Kolkatan misses the Puja being away from home - then his emotional turmoil knows no bound :-) The trauma(!!) manifests itself in different ways in different people. I for example, used to impose a media ban on myself. No Kolkata newspapers online, no TV - nothing. Just used to pretend to myself it is just a normal day, and did not want anything to remind me that it was Puja at home :-)
That's why I felt that for the first time visitor, it will more be a feast for the senses. Of course the emotions will be involved, as you rightly pointed out. I mean, one cannot be a robot to experience it all and soak it all in, and yet feel emotionally blank about it :-)
But then that sentimental attachment, those memories and those happy associations is what would perhaps elude you the first time around. And as I had said before, the next time onwards you are surely going to miss it :-D
Your explanation here did help me get a clearer picture of what you are conveying with respect to the extent of emotional involvement in the festivities. I understand what you mean by stating that the Durga Puja would evoke a separate chain of emotions in someone who has grown up with it.
I've enjoyed this little discourse we had in this comment section. Perhaps one of us could put up a separate post on it.:D
Thank you Ananda. :)
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