Pujor Gondho

Oooooo Ai re chutey ai, Pujor Gondho esheche…

Its September 21 today.  Roughly a month away from Durga Puja.

Next month, today will be Saptami/seventh day and Pujo will be in full gear then. I have always loved the countdown to the Durga Puja. For me once Durga Puja begins the days are lost in a haze of fun and gaiety. What I love the most is enjoying the days preceding the Pujo. I love looking at the calendar and striking off one day after the other till I reach Mahalaya. One day gone is one day closer to Durga Puja.  I love the countdown and I love updating it on my FB status and yes, making all my friends stationed outside Kolkata jealous..very very jealous! :-)

Shiuli; when I met her last year

For me the countdown starts soon after the Rath Yatra, ie, somewhere around July. Well I know it’s pretty early for many to realize that Durga Puja is just around the corner. But I only need some indicators and I can safely say that Pujo is not that far. 

Yes that’s what the popular Bengali song calls it pujor gandho. One doesn’t have to go by the Ponjika then. There are certain familiar sights or in more ‘scientific’ words symptoms that Durga Puja is not far away.

One among them is the Shiuli Ful; the white flower with an orange stem. Come autumn and these flowers start blooming. Kaash and Shiuli are the two flowers which are synonymous with the countdown.

My first memories of Shiuli Ful start with my ancestral house in Asansol. A huge sprawling house built by my mother’s paternal grandfather, it had a big Shiuli tree in one corner of the garden. In the evenings there would be no power and we would all lie down on a khatiya outside; the grandchildren spread out on the khatiya and dadu on the age-old arm chair. He would tell us so many stories about Shiuli Ful. He would wake us up early in the morning to collect Shiuli Ful as it blooms only at night and falls off at the first sight of light. We would all hurry with small paper plates, competing with each other in collecting the maximum number of flowers. And then we would make garlands out of it which would be offered for Durga Puja. It was such fun. All cousins together, fighting and bonding with each other under the Shiuli tree.

As a child I have always wondered why Shiuli is so mysterious. She blooms in the dark when everyone in the world is lost in their dreams. No one gets to watch this lovely flower on the tree and then she decides to jump down at the sight of the first light. Isn’t she suicidal, too sacrificing? Why can’t she be like the rest; bloom in the light and fade away with it? No she simply decides to be unique…takes ‘the road less traveled’ and decides to get lost in ignorance. I wonder how many people are aware of this mystical, lovely flower! Well that’s a price you pay to be different.

There was another art which dadima taught us. The orange stems could be squeezed to bring out an orangeish extract. This extract can be a good dye. We would spend hours sitting in the sun squeezing out the extract and making patterns on our handkerchiefs. I wonder how many kids today are aware of this. Instead of spending so much money on buying pastels/crayons/water colours can the schools employ such simple, innovative activities to keep the children engaged? Why not? 

And not to miss the sweet fragrance of the Shiuli flower. Waking up to the sweet fragrance was a delight in its own right. Shiuli in the courtyard meant a sweet, serene, divine ambience in the morning.

BUT and yes there has to be a but! The worst thing about a Shiuli tree is the caterpillar. We, Shiuli lovers had to pay a price for loving her. It meant tolerating those pests; some were small, some were quite big, all colorful ones crawling around the house. An accidental touch would give us a bad itch and an inflammation to remember throughout the Puja vacation. Hence if a Shiuli is close by can a caterpillar be far behind?

Well, the ancestral house in Asansol where I met Shiuli for the first time was demolished in 2010, Dadu who introduced me to my best friend left us in 2011, dadima who helped me appreciate the beauty of Shiuli is a lonely, broken-hearted, sick lady who has no hopes of witnessing another Durga Puja and the beautiful Shiuli, my mystery lady was mercilessly chopped off a few days back. I am yet to sight my best friend this year. Once I see her will let you know!! 

Wish me the best bondhu!

Welcoming Bishu Nono

Bishu is a popular Bengali nickname for any Bangali who has been named ‘Biswanath’, ‘Biswalochan’, Biswambhar, Biswamitro, Boshistho. Any ‘good name’ (bhalo naam) has to have a short form. It has to be short, easy to pronounce, rhythmic and funny. And the nickname has to be ‘malleable’. What I mean is that the nickname can be further twisted and turned into something which is shorter and wackier. The name-giver more often than not has no sympathy for the named one. Hence we have a Pritilata who becomes a pittu, an Uttam who becomes Utu, Amala becomes amu/amlu, Kaustabh becomes kustu/kuttu, Gautam becomes Gu/goot/Gotu and the list can be endless. Well this happens only amongst Bengalis. 

Ok, let me not digress much! Bishu here is not just any Bangali but a four-armed special, handsome man. Last year Viswakarma Puja, my two- year old had gone out pandal hopping with his aunt. He came back home chanting ‘Bichu uncle’. We were at a loss trying to decipher what he was saying. After moments of speculation I realized that he meant Bishu who was no other than the deity himself, the Lord Viswakarma. Thankfully this year the newly-turned three-year old decided to offer some more respect and hence the updated version stands at ‘Bishu Nono’. 

I find it very uncanny that Viswakarma Puja falls on September 17 every year. It was only last year, i.e., in 2011 that it was celebrated on September 18.   

 Viswakarma, the architect of this universe finds much favour among petty businessmen mostly. I find shopkeepers, cable operators, small scale industries and even taxi/rickshaw unions celebrating it with much fanfare. 

ACCESSORIES WHICH SELDOM MATCHES WITH THE FACTS

Lord Viswakarma has four arms, holding a water pot, a ‘latai’ (noose), Veda and craftsman tools in each of his hands. His ‘bahana’ is the elephant. The God is famous for some of his architectural marvels; the famous Dwarka city where Krishna lived, Hastinapur, the capital of the Pandavas, Indraprastha for the Pandavas and also Lanka where the demon Ravana kept Sita captive. This festival is also associated with kite-flying festival in Kolkata though in Burdwan and Durgapur kite flying itself is a separate festival which is held on Poush Sankranti (January).

I have been brought up on an adequate dose of Viswakarma Puja as the town where I spent my childhood was primarily a steel township. Hence everyone there worshipped ‘Bishu nono’. Baba would return from office (the steel plant) laden with packets full of sweets and bhog. It was fun as we had our own ‘pick’ from those packets. I and my sisters would squabble and fight with the packets. And then ma-baba would have to intervene and arrange for a lucky draw. Simple life full of excitement it was!

This day is very special to me for another reason. September 17 happens to be my father’s birthday as well. Hence there is lot of planning to be done in advance. What to cook (vegetables, meat, fish, dessert), what to wear (we usually have relatives and friends swooping down on our place), where to go (dinners are either home delivery or eating out at a restaurant which is Baba’s choice) and finally what to gift him. It’s a grand event for us in few words. 

With baba’s birthday and Viswakarma Puja, there is an air of festivity around. A bright, sunny sky with clouds scattered everywhere, pandals in every nook and corner, loudspeakers playing popular Bengali hits, men in Pajama-punjabi, no taxi/rickshaws plying around, it heralds the onset of Pujo in West Bengal. Viswakarma Puja means Durga Puja is not far away. 

VISWAKARMA LIES ABANDONED NEAR A LAKE

Today as I write this piece, the God has already been taken for immersion, the Pandals are being modified to make it larger, spacious, and grander and magnificent to make it fit for Devi Durga and her battalion.

JOY VISWAKARMAR JOY. ASHCHE BOCHOR ABAR HOBE

September er pujo pujo rob

‘Neel akashe ke bhashaley shaada megher bhela re bhai lukochurir khela…’

One of my favorite songs I am humming today as I sip chai in the balcony. The song is such a fit today! It has been raining for the last few days. Gloomy and depressing, I have been missing my family and hubby. But today morning when I opened my eyes expecting another bout of depression, I was in for a pleasant surprise! The sky was clear and blue with specks of white fluffy clouds sailing around. The sun shone brilliantly, birds chirping around, it was far away from the pall of gloom that had descended on us. I could see little boys with bags strapped on their small back trudging off to school, men returning from the bazaar with bags laden with groceries, Manik, the fish seller shouting out loud and clear ‘ei bochorer shesh ilish aro kom damey’ (this year’s last stock of hilsa at a much lesser price). Oh my God! Everyone seems to be so happy and gay. This is a cheerful day indeed! 

And yes, why not? The gloomy monsoons have bade farewell to us, the umbrellas and raincoats have gone back to the closet, its hot but bearable, you can do away with the sleeveless tops and kurtis, no mud or muck around and there’s Kaashful all around! 

Yes Kaashful, those long white flowers billowing in the breeze. The first sight of Kaashful would always send us into a tizzy, as it meant Durga Puja was around the corner. Yes the flowers have blossomed finally! 

The countdown has already started in Kolkata. Roads and lanes blocked by pandals mushrooming everywhere, Gariahat clogged with traffic and eager shoppers, huge hoardings displaying the Puja theme for this year, bill boards announcing pre-puja sale, plans for a long vacation, long lists of gifts to be bought for all, repeated trials at the tailor, cajoling and pleading the dressmakers to fit in another order, short-listing restaurants for eating out, inviting relatives for a visit, buying new furnishings for Durga Puja and the list seems endless.

Another 50 days away… Durga Puja is in the air. Oh, how much I love being in Kolkata at this time of the year!

Wish all my readers a great time in preparing for the Puja ahead!