Beyond Five Days of Durga Pujo EVENT

Durga Pujo..quintessence of Bengali festivities..Like all other bengalis,I've limitless memories,flashing in front of my eyes right now..I was wanting to write about my memories of durga pujo,but then there is so much to write..I have been holding myself back,afraid to run out of space and then leading all my dear readers to boredom.Pree of  PreeOccupied  posted a beautiful article today,inviting everyone to contribute something about Durga Puja-stories,pictures,recipes..And that got me started..
      After so many years,we were in India last year for Durga Puja-I left early from US to arrive just in time for the monsoons leaving the sunny skies and fluffy clouds to do their thing, cute li'l KAASH starting to take their forms in those grassy brushes..Everything smelled of my familiar pujo days...
                    I'll be talking about my memories in a different post..This one's for the photos only..I chose a few, from the pictures I took during my India trip last year..Hope they serve their purpose of telling the story I want them to tell of those beautiful time spent with family,feeling at home...Last but not the least,my brother got married about 2 years back into one of the oldest families of Kolkata-They have been celebrating  Durga Puja and Jagadhhatri Pujo for over 200 years in their home..I had the most unique time during the Durga Puja days last year at my sis-in-law's parental home,starting right from Mahalaya,watching the " PROTIMA ( IDOL ) being molded from clay,being painted,jewelleries being put on the Goddess and so on...I've shared a few pictures from those days too !! 

My Didama's ( maternal grandmom ) daily morning ritual- beautiful pujo arrangements...I have been waking up to her pujo bells ( ghonta ) every morning,whenever we are at her house..

DIDAMA'S PONCHO-PRODIP  which is lighted up every morning and every evening..for AROTI 

ILISH MAACHER PATURI

Bhaat-Paturi-Mocha'r Ghonto ( Banana flower sabji )- LUNCH on fresh-cut Banana Leaf fro

m the garden !!

  Among the myriads of dishes Mom makes everytime I'm home..I managed to take a picture of " ILISH MAACHER PATURI " cooked by her this time ..Pujo holidays and good food,preferably home-made and Mom-made :)

 The roadside splendor of KAASH..on our way to Kolkata from Maithon..The day was " Biswakarma Pujo "

KOLKATA CALLING ..Family,food,fun...Yayyy !! 

 Day of Mahalaya-Jethu ( that's what I call my bro's father-in-law ) called me to let me know that the PROTIMA ( IDOL ) is ready,they are putting the finishing touches on the painting part..Tonight, Maa ( Maa Durga ) will be adorned with the " SAAJ "  ( Jewelleries )..The Goddess is getting ready..I was so happy and grateful to them for giving me an oppurtunity to experience something so beautiful, and captured a few photos..

PUJO AT GIRISH BHAVAN 

Freshly bloomed  SHIULI at night

Those five days of pujo came quickly and left even quicker-Spent those days as wonderfully as any Bong would possibly spend - eating out and in,shopping,Pandal Hopping,lazing around on Didama's bed with rest of the family...chatting,having home-made Paan ( beetle leaves ), piping hot darjeeling chai with singara ( samosa )..

The GODDESS at GIRISH BHAVAN on ASHTAMI 

 The next couple pictures are from the archives of Girish Bhavan,taken by a relative-Thanks to my Sis-in-law for sharing them with me !!

DASHAMI Rituals at GIRISH BHAVAN

SONDHI PUJO at GIRISH BHAVAN

 Now,my post wouldn't be complete without a few chosen photos of the pandals of Kolkata...And many of them are weirdly taken because of the flood,of people,knocking you out from every directions..It's amazing that I managed to take any pictures at all :)

Here's welcoming this year's Pujo whole-heartedly....
This post is off to Pree's event...Thanks Pree for such an oppurtunity !!

SUNSHINE

Today was one of those days when I looked about me and felt like I knew this sunshine from somewhere- The day I was about to leave home for hostel life,for the first time..had this exact same tint to it..Not a sunshine which one associates with happiness,but  one of dejection-Memories of leaving the love and constant protection of your parents to one of struggle.Although hostel life is not all bad,and I personally feel everyone should experience it..but still,for me it marked a big change in my otherwise tranquil life...

There are lots of such days when I can relate to the color of the sunshine …There is a particular time of the year when it happens more often..I’m still waiting for it to happen this year..It’s almost time though- Days when I start to feel durga puja is just around the corner-the cottony clouds,the bright sunshine,the sky..everything has a different feel and look-something which I can’t  express in words so well but only can be felt..specially if you have spent your lifetime looking forward to durga pujo every year and observing the gradual changes which marks the advent of autumn or “ Sharat “ in bengal....Monsoon gradually takes her leave, and Kaash fuul starts taking form in the clumps of grassy brushes,in the fields and roadsides…mostly around those places left wet by the rains. Sunshine starts to abound and clumps of milky white,fluffy clouds start floating around like little boats in the vast blue ocean of the sky….

In my mind full of memories,durga pujo & Sharat kaal are representated aptly by two things- Kaash Fuul and Shiuli Fuul..And as puja holidays started to get closer,bamboo poles started piling up at tentative spots for “ pandals “, you hear the word “ pujo’r bazar ( pujo shopping ) “  and ongoing decision-making at home regarding  pujo gifts to relatives…I knew it’s time..And immediately my eternal lookout for any signs of Kaash fuul started. 

I was in India last year for durga puja-after many years..And on our way to Kolkata via G.T.Road , I felt like I was in a dream..The roadsides and the fields ..as far as eyes could see,were covered with whiteness..Kaash fuul…my favorite…abounding everywhere..in all the nook and corner..It was a sight which made my trip worthwhile…it was a sight which brought back floods of memories and fed my hungry mind and soul with material to make whole new memories….I asked dad to stop so that I could step out of the car and imbibe this sight….A few days later,there was a big storm,which often happens this time of the year..and all those whiteness were gone…some dropped off  to the ground,others were slumped by the torrent…a few remained to brave the wind.But I’ve taken in one of the best sights and I was not that sad. In my parents’ garden,like every year giant pink “ sthal-padma “ ( Land-Lotus ) started to bloom..Shiuli came a little later..I remembered how my brother and I used to tire ourselves out by collecting loads of shiuli fuul,which covered the grounds below the tree in a thick carpet,every morning..There’s no fragrance like the shiuli-It’s just out of this world..and the fact that it comes only during a particular time of the year and that too during the durga puja-makes it all so much more special. Shapla,shaluk,Padma ….made their appearances in the ponds and lakes…Yes,durga pujo is definitely here…

So,in this far-off land…it so happens that that the imminence of durga pujo arrives some way or the other to me-Sometimes,from the advertisements and announcements in the online radio,or a little chat with Ma when she tells me about all the shopping she’s been doing since there’s only a month or two left …Or sometimes,one fine sunny day..I feel and smell that durga pujo-ness in the sunshine..and when I look up,I see those exact same clouds and the clear,crisp,blue sky i’ve been seeing all  my life.What I do then is to add my own spice to it-those sights of kaash,shiuli,shaapla,shaluk,sthal Padma ~ those smell of dhoop,dhuno,haziness around the pandals due to all the smoke ~ the sounds of stotro-paath ( chanting of mantras ),blaring microphones,puspanjali ( offering to the goddess ) in progress ~ and everything else I need to do to transport me back home, to the voices of  my parents telling us to hurry up..to those days of durga puja..

I’m still awaiting that kind of a sunshine this year…eagerly  ~ ~