Durga Puja, down memory lane
The word Durga
Puja gets every Bengali into a festive mood and equally excited, no matter in
which part of the world he or she stays in. As Durga Puja is approaching on
October 1, I get nostalgic thinking about those four days during our growing up
years. The first thing that came to our mind was shopping, and counting dresses
(whether we had at least two dresses for each of the four days). Then came the
unending wait: counting how many days and then, how many hours were left for
Durga Ma to arrive.
For mornings,
there were strict instructions from our mothers to collect flowers and offer
them at the puja mandap. It was only during that time of the year when we were
early risers. To get more and more flowers, we did not hesitate even to climb
the hills to get the best of the lot (in our native place, foothills of
Guwahati, Assam). Toy guns were a special possession. So were those moments
when we fought with our siblings over bullet rolls to insert in our guns,
especially to shoo away boys who would run after us with their guns to dig
holes in our new dresses.
We got special
permission to roam around with friends during daytime and satiate out taste buds
with all the ice-creams, chat and what not with a little raise in our pocket
money as special puja allowance. Lunch time was standing in long queues in the
sun to get the most tasty food in puja pandals. Evening time was hopping from
one pandal to another, admiring different idols and pandal decorations with our
parents. If not, then we sit in our neighbourhood pandal and chat with friends
on every topic and have a snack break after every half an hour. We went home
just to change dresses and to sleep at night, dead tired after roaming the
whole day.
As we stepped
into our teenage years, Puja time was proposal time from boys. Though we got
excited at each proposal but we would love to say ‘NO’ to all and giggle at
everything.
But things are
no more the same. Now the first thought that comes to our mind is whether we
would get leave. With mall culture entering our lives in a big way and shopping
becoming a normal phenomenon, buying clothes no more has the same charm. Now
children love to play more with computers and mobiles. And there is no safety,
so we are scared to send our children to roam carefree like we did in our
childhood.
Still, a few
things are still the same: The wait for puja, buying at least something new to
wear, having yummy prasad in pandals and tasty snacks from all food stalls
visible. The special beat of the dhak and the chant Durga Mai ki Jai take us
down memory lane! On Dashami day, we still feel the vacuum inside after the
immersion of the idol. Only a Bengali can understand the importance of Durga
Puja in their lives with the belief ‘Achche bochor abar hobe!’ (Ma will come
again next year).
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