Akash Prodeep

This little guiding light of mine/ I’m going to let it shine/let it shine/all the time/ let it shine!

That’s my version of an ‘akash prodeep’. This is a song which I learnt in school and yes I learnt it ‘by heart’. And then I forgot all about it. I sang it again the day Ma put up an ‘Akash prodeep’ in the month of Kartik after Thammi passed away. 

Thammi/Thamtham/Thamburi…these were all the names that I used to call my paternal grandmother. We lost her in 2002 to abdominal cancer. And that was the year I got through campus interview. She had promised me that she would accompany me wherever I went for my posting. Well when my place of posting was announced she was up there in the sky and yes she did live up to her word of following me around. That year Ma decided to put up an ‘Akash prodeep’ for my paternal grandparents. ‘Now that they both are up there let’s light a light for them’ is what Ma had said while putting it up. 

Baba, who never believed in these customs refused to be a party to it. We got a bamboo stick (about my height- 151cm), stuck a zero watt bulb on the top and connected the wire to the nearest plug point. Our ‘akash prodeep’ was ready. We set this up on our sprawling terrace at our Burdwan house. Our everyday evening ritual was switching it on. The warm glow of the lamp in the terrace on those wintry Kartik nights was quite calming. Many a night I and my sister would creep up the stairs wishing that ‘Thammi’ would see the light and come down for an earthly visit. That feeling of warmth still creeps into my heart whenever I think of an ‘akash prodeep’. 

It was one of those nights when we were planning to creep up the stairs that I heard the terrace door make a creaking sound. Surprised as there was nobody around we stealthily moved up the stairs. I saw a shadow. Scared and shivering, my little sister crouched below the lowermost rung while I mustered enough courage to climb up. I thought ‘Thammi has finally decided to pay us a visit’ and mounted up the stairs. Wide open and lit by the Purnima the terrace was clear except for a silhouette standing next to the ‘akash prodeep’. Quite tall for Thammi… or maybe after death my little Thammi who was hardly four feet has gained some height.

Well well well, who was it standing next to my ‘guiding light’? None but my father who had refused to help us with the prodeep and who refused to believe in these stories. I found him gazing longingly at the prodeep possibly echoing the same sentiments that we had!

Last year I lost my maternal grandfather who was a ‘father figure’ to me. This year while setting up the prodeep I could feel a connection with Thammi and Dadu. 

My Akash prodeep is very dear to me. While penning down this post I can see it standing tall and stately like a guardian angel in my terrace promising to protect me against all odds and evil. 

I know of many people who ridicule this custom and laugh at people like me. But this is what I believe in. It has nothing to do with superstition. Putting up an akash prodeep is like offering a Puja/garland to one’s ancestor. If we can perform an elaborate shradh ceremony in the memory of the deceased and spend thousands on feeding people then what harm does it do in lighting an akash prodeep for a month? 

I would like to end this post with another favorite song of mine.

Aakash prodeep jo-le, duur er taarar paane cheye-e
Aa-mar noyon duuti shudhui-i toma-re cha-he
Bethar badol-e jay che-ey

Boye chole andhi-ar raatri
Aami choli dishahin j-aatri
Duur ajanar paar-e ,o-kul ashar khey-a peeye (okul or akul same)
Aamar noyon d-uuti shudhui-i toma-re cha-he
Bethar badol e jay che-ey

Koto kaal aar koto kaal
Ei poth chola oo-go cholbe (poth or path same)
Koto raatri ar hiya-aa (the word ’ar’is almost silent here. Hidden in ratri)
Akash prodeep hoye j-olbe

Kono raat-e mon-e ki go porbe (o like kora kagoz, r=d in Hindi)
Betha hoye ankhi jol jhorbe
B-atash akuul ho-be tomar nish-ash tu-ku p-eye
Aamar noyon duuti shudhui-i toma-re cha-he
Bethar badol-e jay che-ey

Original Singer: Lata Mangeshkar, Lyrics- Pabitra Mitra, Music- Satinath Mukherjee

November; Pujo fervour continues

KALI PUJO & KARTIK PUJO

It’s November and the popular refrain is ‘how time flies’. Yes the English year will end soon. 

November is another exciting month after the Durga Pujo frenzy of October. A fifteen-day respite is enough to overcome the post-Pujo blues and fatigue and gear up for the ‘Festival of Lights’. Preparations for Kali Pujo begin as soon as Lakshmi Puja gets over. Local hardware stores are alight. The colours twinkling inside those tiny stores are enough to dazzle us. Every house tries to outbid the other in getting the fanciest lights. One should check out Chandni Chowk market in Kolkata. Various kinds of lights in a wide range are available there. String of lights shaped as candles/diyas, electric diyas, pancha pradeep (five pradeep) are much in demand. 

And you can’t miss out the crackers. Though there is a high decibel limit, they still sell. The big daddy’s of crackers like ‘chocolate bomb’, ‘dudoma’, ‘dum duma dum’ are the most sought- after ones. A special mela is organized in Kolkata on the Brigade Grounds every year and is known as ‘baaji mela’. Crackers are on display everywhere. Even the tiny shops display a large collection of crackers. 

And yes people are still shopping! Suddenly there is a sale for every household appliance and assured Diwali gifts with it. Kalipujo has somehow got associated with the desire to wear the most gaudiest/glamorous outfit. Whoever I speak to have saved their glitziest outfit/sari for Kali Pujo. Kali Pujo these days is all about lights, color, glitz and glamour!

November also brings with it the much-needed chill in the air. The sky turns bluer, the sun loses its intensity, a cool breeze, light woolens out and we are all set for the fun and fiesta of November. 

There is Bhai Phonta, a day meant for the brothers and sisters to proclaim their love and renew their bonds for each other.

Kartik Pujo is performed by most women for the well-being of their offspring and also by married women who are yet to bear a child.

YOUR RECKONER FOR NOVEMBER

Jagadhatri puja, which is another form of the Goddess Durga on her lion sans her entourage of Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh, Kartik and Mahishashur, has attained a metro status recently. Earlier it was a very homely affair with some households adhering to their age-old customs but these days its gained state-wide prominence.

November is also the month where the Bengali month Kartik gives way to Agrahayan. Kartik is considered the holiest of all months and many people give up non-vegetarian food altogether. Prices of fish, meat and eggs dip down to an all-time low. Good for Bongs like us who are based outside Kolkata! Kartik is also the time when we all put up ‘Akashprodeep’ (the guiding light) in the memory of our ancestors. 

More about these festivals and customs in my next topic. Meanwhile I have to hunt for some ‘tuni’ bulbs for my boy.