Yes ! Autumn is here – the title speaks out for itself. This is the one time of the year when I’m really REALLY HAPPY and there are plenty of reasons as to why so. Firstly the weather – the sultry heat followed by the monotonous rains start to recede and we are welcomed by a cool, sweet and calm wind with a golden sunshine and occasional thunderstorms. Warm days and cool nights adorned by the sweeter fragrance of the Coral Jasmine (siuli phool) with white puffing clouds floating in the blue sky add to this season’s beauty. As a whole, the season brings with it a festive mood for us Bengalees – it heralds the forth-coming of the Durga Puja! And this event continues to bring the most awaited, cherished and pleasing moments of the year for me. I feel elated and delighted as this time of the year (September-October) comes closer and closer and we stand just a month away from the most-awaited festival of the bengalees.
Autumn as a season is short-lived in India. Personally I consider it to be one of the most ‘harmless’ seasons of the cycle. In the torrid summers we get to hear about sun-strokes and a score of people breathed their last in this year’s summer in my hometown, floods curse the monsoons while the winters are the most painful times for the poor, the homeless who suffer in the open sky while we sleep under the cozy quilt at nights. Speaking about Durga Puja, I’m perhaps pretty lucky to have the Puja at my own home for the last seven years. This ‘most-awaited festival of the bengalees’ had never held much attraction for me before these years – yes, I used to participate in the Sit-and-Draw competition when I was small, then the normal visit to the pandals around, with an occasional dinner at the restaurants were all the “enjoyments” for me. Personally they never held any special appeal to me since all these seemed so routine – WHAT WAS IT THAT WAS DIFFERENT FOR THE PUJA?
Finally we started the Puja at our home – and since then there was no looking back! I really feel for the people who are not fortunate like me to enjoy the Puja at their homes – or who are yet to see what a Durga Puja at one’s home really is! Of course there’s no need to teach me that this is never possible for all due to economic reasons or otherwise, and the fact remains that people prefer pandal-hopping to sitting idle at one’s own home enjoying the Puja. But this ‘sitting idle’ is what continues to remain the most enjoyable part of my life – it has remained so for so many years and will hopefully remain so for the rest of my life. And people are no different when it comes to comparisons in this aspect – they may find me boring, superstitious and religious – but whatever, I hardly pay any heed to their comments (I’m becoming habituated to these kind of thoughts – somehow mine never matches their school, even becoming a blog-author is bore-drum for them). Puja-shopping is another thing that turns out to be huge enjoyment for many, but not me, I still do not know WHAT’S THERE TO ENJOY IN PLAIN SHOPPING, OKAY EVEN IF IT’S FOR THE DURGA PUJA?
I don’t like going out in the streets during the Puja’s either. People, specially those of my age-group behave like madmen let out of prison! Rash driving followed by night-outs in half-drunken state remain the order of the day during that time. They think I live like a captive during the Puja’s with strict-military disciplined order from my parents not to go or enjoy with my friends – when will they realize the enjoyment that I have dancing to the tune of the dhakis is more than they can ever squeeze out of jumping to the pandals or roaming with their girl-friends in their entire lifetime? Normally I remain quiet and reserved – I’m not that kind of person who can make easy friends and go on chattering endlessly about all the trash in the world ranging from bollywood heroines to Hollywood scandals (I’ve said this many times here in my blog that I make friends only with people of my type and thinking, for the rest – hi-hello okay, but friends, NO and NEVER!) but when I’m with my family, I’m the most talkative and jolly person as ever. During this Puja time, I become a child who really takes grave enjoyment in anything and everything that happens during this time, I take pleasure in dancing to the ARATI and I know people would call me a mad person seeing that – but for me – that’s the best part of the entire festival!
Relatives – not really! My cousin, who is almost of my age turns up and comes to live with us during this time, and my old aging grandmother are the only relatives who accompany us in this grand festival. Normally I am not really too much elated at anything, I prefer keeping things and thoughts unto myself and am not much expressive either – but enjoyment at this time for me reaches dizzying heights as if there’s no tomorrow. The culture of this Puja appeals to me as well. Apparantly this festival symbolizes the victory of Good over Evil but the crux of the entire theme remains as perceiving Goddess Durga as our own daughter – pretty much human like us – who needs to be welcomed when she comes back home (Earth) and is bade adieu with tears as she departs back to Kailash.
We stand exactly a month away from this year’s Puja. I’m delighted at best, eagerly looking forward at worst. This post however is something that I feel every year and this is the first time I’ve so publicly expressed my feelings for this event and somehow I feel, this post was due from me for quite some time.