Saturday, September 19, 2009

Durga Puja countdown begins

I don’t like it.

I am trying my best to be logical, clinical, rational….

I can’t help feeling terribly mushy.

And to make it sillier, it’s about Durga Puja, a festival that I’ve been attending for all five days, with clockwork regularity, for every year of my life.


Yet, I miss each one of those moments.


The exchanging of parcels of new clothes between Jaipur-Siliguri-Kolkata-and where ever Boro Pishi happened to be.

Being emotionally blackmailed into a thorough spring cleaning before Mahalaya by Mom (To ensure each inch of the house was washed, each bit of well everything was kept in the sun for hours and arranged back, she would start the whole process, and end up looking so tired and frails that………u guessed it!)

Rushing away right in the morning for “pushpanjali”, preening up in all finery just to go and watch the cultural functions, the puja, and……… well everyone else. Having friends stay over just so that we all could spend hours at the puja. The Arti, the competitions, the bhog, the evenings-it was an unreal existence for five days, every year.

The best part for me used to be the Bhashan, the immersion procession, where I would always wrangle one of Durga Thakur’s weapons to keep until the next year…

The last “trishul” I kept was thrown away long ago.

High time I grew up. I know!


But I still think my kids are really missing something. 

8 comments:

  1. This was too “mushy” even for you..
    Your kids are having a ball, and have many more experience to look forward too..

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  2. I Know, I know

    Was just writing to get it out of my systems, and start looking forward…

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  3. Oh its one grand celebration there na! I so want to go to Bengal atleast once during Durga Puja!

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  4. Thanks Swaram. Maybe I'll go next year-Do come along!

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  5. In gujarat we don't have "durga puja" as grand as yours in bengal but we have "Navaratri" and we dance away to glory for nine nights. It so much fun. When I was young there was not curfew and so i and my freinds used to be up till 4 or 5 in the morning. My daughter sleeps at 12.30 ... She will never know what is it to dance all night :) :)

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  6. Guess our kids will find their own ways to celebrate and create their own memories. We can only be happy we had so many!

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  7. I've celebrated Durga puja with my very close Bengali neighbours during my childhood & it was truly a magical festival.. Have some v fond memories of it. Nice post. I relived some of those through you !

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  8. Thanks. I still miss those moments, but felt a lot better after sharing them.

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