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.
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| 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!
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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.
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| 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.
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