What is it about Durga Puja and
Bengalis?- So many have asked me this question and without a doubt, they were
all non-Bengalis. Well, because you cannot explain to them in a sentence the
importance of this festival in the life of a Bengali, I respond with lame lines
as-“It’s the greatest festival in Bengal”. Not
that it is incorrect; that might make you to think that Durga Puja is Bengal’s Christmas or Diwali or Id. Again, I am not the right person to
compare from an unbiased point as to which festival is “greater”, if any at
all, as I will be tempted to sing in favor of the autumnal celebrations in Bengal where I have grown up and share special sentiments
with.
Speaking (writing actually) of
Durga Puja makes me nostalgic because Durga Puja is all about homecoming. Referring to mythology, the
Puja is celebrated when Maa Durga visits her home with her family. That in no
way should make you think that during this festival, women return to their
parent’s home, although that still remains an open choice. In fact, this
festival is about togetherness and
spending quality time with family and friends. This festival thus assumes
greater importance for those staying away from their home. Although every
homecoming is equally welcoming and refreshing, if the son/daughter doesn’t
visit the family during the Durga Puja, it is extremely painful for both the
parties because the very spirit of festivity is done away with and the festival
becomes just another formality.
Wait is another important element. Bengalis wait for these four
days in constant anticipation the entire year. So, it’s not just a four-day
festival. The preparation phase is extremely important in setting up the mood
for the gala annual event. It all starts with collecting the clay for the idol.
It takes months to carve out an idol to perfection. Thousands of idols are created for installing them in pandals
all over the state and outside. The real enthusiasm begins with the painting of
the eyes of the idol on the day of the Mahalaya. Traditionally, the artists observe
fast before painting the eyes of the Goddess. The non-artists, like us, wake up
at 4 in the morning to listen to the Mahalaya chant in radio or television. And
this is probably the only time of the year youngsters do not resent about their
parents waking them up so early. I don’t remember having missed the early
morning chant over radio or the dramatic rendition on television during my stay
in Bengal.
If I said that the real
enthusiasm starts with Mahalaya, it is only with respect to the religious part
of the Puja. Actually, it all begins with buying of new clothes. Irrespective
of whether you are rich or poor, whether you already have clothes that would
suffice the next three years, whether you earn or not- you visit the crowded
stores to get a new dress- not necessarily for yourself but for your family and
relatives. And in turn, you get many. As a child, I remember comparing the
count of dresses acquired during the Pujas with friends. Do not faint if I say that
the count ranged anywhere between 7 to 17! (This is no exaggeration)
Another inseparable part of
pre-Durga Puja shopping is definitely magazines. Publishers in Bengal do not miss this opportunity and each one of them
vouches for the best collection of novels, poems, short stories, comics and
what not! Teenagers and adults have their own choice of magazines and books but
reputed authors and publishers ensure to treat readers of all ages with the
best Sharodshankhya or Pujobarshiki during the festive season.
Finally, arriving at the actual
celebrations- pandals are set up and there’s a good bit of rivalry as to which para’s (locality) pandal looks the best.
Club members toil hard day and night before the event and during it to ensure
that their pandal draws a huge crowd. In recent years, “themed” Pujas have been
in a rage. One has seen pandals based on a potpourri of interests ranging from
the ancient Harappan civilization to dictator Saddam Hussain, from Bengal’s all-season favorite Tagore to cricket, from
cinemas to religions, from music to basically anything under the Sun. One would
definitely be taken aback by the incredible ideas which go on to the making of
the pandals. If you go out to see what goes in to their making- be prepared to
find leaves, fruits, glasses, plastic, jute, paper, bamboo, gold, bangles,
clay-cups- and this list keeps growing each year.
People flock with friends and
family, untiringly hopping from one pandal to another all day and all night (no
kidding!). Your ears will be used to the sound of the dhak (drum). Believe me, this part of the year, drum becomes more
important than music CDs. Chaos is so
integral to this activity and still no one needs to manage it. It’s the only
time you’ll find people smiling in long queues. Important part is- this has got
little to do with religion. Atheists and non-atheists gather for a treat with
equal enthusiasm. Religion, caste and economic status take a backstage as they
walk in crowded roads, awe-struck by the themed lightings all along the road,
hand in hand. No wonder this festival is being deemed as the largest outdoor
art festival in the world.
Pandal-hopping in Durga Puja
would be incomplete without street foods. I don’t remember a day when I didn’t stuff
my stomach with rolls, kebabs, pakoras, phuchhkas from those unhygienic stalls. But trust me, you won’t
fall ill during the Pujas- the Goddess doesn’t allow you to! A gourmet or a
gourmand?- that’s the big question but most Bengalis are- either of the two. Intertwined
with all these and an inseparable part of the celebration is the adda- the gathering with friends over
snacks to discuss about anything and everything- opinionated that Bengalis are!
Dashami is the last day of the
celebrations when the idol is immersed. This marks the return of Maa from her
father’s home to that of her husband’s. People (don’t be surprised to see more
women than men) of all ages dance all along the walk from the pandal to the
river-ghat, accompanying the Goddess and her children, chanting hymns in their
name. The immersion is followed by hugs among contemporaries, touching the feet
of elders and distributing sweets.
It’s one time of the year when we
assemble to bow down before the might of the feminine in a greatly patriarchal
societal structure. The spirit of this festival transcends all boundaries in
the life of all Bengalis across the globe. It’s that time of the year when your
heart yearns to meet that old friend who you fought with at school, the old
teacher who kept you standing all through the lunch-break, the old town or the
city roads you treaded to rise to the stature that you are today. Durga Puja is all about being
united with the past for a few days and waiting for the next year’s
celebrations with higher hopes:
“Aschhe Bochhor abar hobe” (It’ll happen
again next year)
And what time could have better
suited the event than when the sky is clear, sunny but not hot, cold but not
shivering, half past the year but in spirit like a New Year.
