Kolkata Chronicles- Part 1

Let's start with the flavor of the season- Puja.

For those of you who don't know what Durga Puja is, here's some info- It is believed that Goddess Durga was created by the Gods to vanquish the demon Mahishasur. After a battle lasting ten days, Goddess Durga finally defeated Mahishasur, thereby saving both the earthly as well as the heavenly abodes. Goddess Durga is the embodiment of power, justice, beauty and motherhood. Durga Puja celebrates the worship of this Goddess Durga.

Even though Durga Puja has its religious as well as mythological significance, you don't have to come to Kolkata to know about that. Basically, you don't need Kolkata to know what Durga Puja is, but you have to come if you want to know what it could be.

Even though Puja falls in October-November, its arrival is preceded by lots of shopping. I started my classes in college in Auugust. It was also the time when I moved into my new room. I was still new to the city back then. My eyebrows went up and my jaw fell when someone asked me "Started your Puja shopping?" I mean, Puja was still months away and my parents never really cultivated the idea of festive shopping in me. For two months, I watched my friends and roommates shop while I didn't buy anything. But as Puja drew closer, I decided I couldn't go out wearing my old clothes when everyone else is wearing new, so I bought a top from Gariahat. You see, the festival shopping gets to you even if you're stingier that Scrooge.

When I first told my classmates that I was planning to go back to Mumbai during Puja, they all had one reaction- 'You're mad'. Nobody here can imagine leaving Kolkata during Puja time. Its the one time of the year when people go all out and have all kinds of fun without feeling guilty. You know the day has begun when you hear the rhythmic beats of a 'dhaak', the percussion instrument that's widely used during the festival. That's when you get out of bed and get dressed in your newest, finest clothes. You head out to your neighborhood puja 'pandal' to seek blessings from the Goddess. There's the 'anjali' in which the priest recites a mantra and people repeat after him. After that, 'prasad', which is supposed to be food blessed and touched by the Goddess, is given out. That's followed by the 'bhog'. People seat themselves along rows of tables for the food. No non-vegetarian food is served.

After that, its time for the fun part.

While some people busy themselves in the 'worship' part of the festival, others let loose just before evening. That's the time when you go 'pandal hopping' which is the local term for going around the city to see what's up in the other pandals. You may ask why go elsewhere to see exactly what's happening in your local pandal, but that's a stupid question here. Every pandal is unique, be it in terms of the idol, the decorations, the food or the people. But the real motivation behind pandal hopping is to see all the theme pujas.

Theme pujas are a recent concept. The organizers pick a theme and design/decorate the pandal accordingly. Even the idols are befitting to the theme.  I was forced to admit that the people of West Bengal take the concept of ‘experintation’ to a whole new level when it comes to Durga Puja. Everywhere in the world, people try to come up with new ideas to jazz up their festival. But here, coming up with a new idea for the pandal is an old idea. Innovation is the tradition.  Just imagine the amount of work and creativity that goes into making these pandals and you are bound to be amazed even if you’ve never have the opportunity to experience it all in person.

Now comes the sub-festivals. By ‘sub-festival’ I refer to those things which have become typical puja traditions over the years but actually have no religious value. For example, someone told me that there are short-term couples during puja.  Know that sounds weird, but here’s what it means- People pick out someone to date just for the five days of puja so they can hang out together. I don’t know why they do it or even why a lot of people do it and hhhave never really seen such a couple, but if people tell me about it it must be true. I’m sure there are more of such things that go on during puja and with time I’ll find out about those too.

Did I enjoy puja? Well, I don’t go out much and can’t hang out for the whole day and eat junk food without getting sick, but in my own way I did enjoy puja. I enjoyed watching the city transform as the festival drew closer. I enjoyed my own visit to Gariahat market to buy a new dress. I enjoyed some of the cultural shows I watched in my neighbourhood pandal. I think everyone must come to Kolkata during Puja time at least once in their life. You may love it, you may hate it, but it will surely invoke some emotion from you because it is a sub-culture in itself.