Festive Memories

It is exactly 15 minutes of walk in the morning from my place. Had put on my old jeans and a new top, had run the hard comb once through the unruly hairs and tied it back. Pressed the half done Boroline tube and greased the dry lips. With a few notes and some coins in the pocket slipped into the buckles of the same old black floaters.

-        “Are you ready?”

-        “Waiting for you!”

It was 5.45 am in the morning. Today is the 7^th day of Durga Puja – the biggest festival of Bengali’s have engulfed my city. When Tagore essayed his wonders, this season was meant to be different. It had a touch of morning dews, a cold breeze in the air… Times have changed (No political endorsement! I am least educated to speak on that subject!). It was extremely stuffy and the morning glory was too gorgeous to handle today. I frantically tried to follow the cloud.

Still like some yester years we walked by the lanes and headed for the pandal – the one that is on the other side of the main road, that had a few thousands of pandal hoppers each year. Yes, last night too, the news channels kept flashing the footfall counts like the stock exchange numbers on the trading sites. Lazy city was yet to wake up and the pandal hoppers who have strolled the last night must have headed for home. The road was fairly empty. Morning walkers where returning from the park.

The pandal is just behind the old school by the park. We keep landmarks every year and still miss the lane; finally circle around and walk few meters extra to get the right entry point to reach her. She must be smiling at us. Every year she comes in different look with varied themes surrounding her. Technology has made everyone a cameraman. Click! Click! Click! Must need is a perfect flash for social proclaim. This is a fairly new habit. In school days craved for ‘V.GOOD’ from maths teacher and counted them on class notebooks. A sense of pride and victory wrapped these feelings. Getting ‘Likes’ on social forums is no less a feelings.

But what is old is having something after hopping out of the pandal. Well what do you expect early in the morning? The store was right on the footpath. The owner was extremely courteous but sounded too pricey. Still we wanted to celebrate and hence ordered two for us. It was well filled fluid. With a cutter he curved out the edge and uncorked it. One pause and two sips, gulped it all. Aha!

I enjoyed the treat he gave. With added sodium and potassium started recalling the days of counting dresses, eyeing on close friend’s shoes, hoping from one pandal to the other, the community Anjali, the auspicious Bhog, gorgeous cultural programs, the drum beats, the Dunichi dance, the evening arathi and the endless chatting. That was the time for community to unite. Not all was perfect but the time had its own beauty. Boundaries were constraint and hence was connection. Hind side the time spend was real and hands-free.

Every passing year was a realization that one is growing with expected adulation to follow “Ki sundor lagche!” (Looking very nice! Such dialogues are starters not be taken all seriously), “Koto boro hoye geli!” (A graceful way of saying you have grown up! This is meant to be careful in reality :) ) and then as life takes its own course, falling apart is so natural. New ways of life take over.

It all happened too fast in last two decades. They seeded the culture of celebration on many soils and made it global. They posted the images and attempted to make everyone a part of the celebration. They started advertising… and gave her presence many branding! Yes, it was much more than wanted… And to top it up with wave of virtual reality, worldwide everyone is continuously-connected and super informed. 

So, what is still the magic that remains so special beyond the good that prevails over evil?    

Ask a friend who landed the city today to spend the remaining three days of Durga Puja. It is hidden with their family and friends … their touch and presence which makes it so different. Technology can promise you connect not the contact!

The speechless moments of drinking coconut water, on the backdrop of “Ma Durga with her family” was a gift for me and pleasure for my father. We pull each other out to make it happen, when she is here and celebrate it in some form that fits us both. Equal-Equal you see. He should feel younger and I little older :). This year it was for 25 bucks per tender coconut from the man on the footpath! I choose, he paid and we created small memories. A slice of childhood still hides in it.

Am back from the morning walk long back. The day is mostly over. The pandals are flooded once more… the footfalls is rising!