It's that time of the year again! Poojo is in the air...literally...i remember when i was younger, there used to be such excitement in the air in the days preceding poojo.
There are a few things that i associate with poojo - the fragrance of shiuli, the sounds of dhaak, dhunuchi, blowing of conch shell...
We had a shiuli tree in our garden and every morning there would be a flower bed beneath the tree....and the air would be laden with the sweet fragrance.
And i loved the sounds of dhak..the familiar sounds and beats energised me like nothing else!
Poojo also meant -
Listening to Mahalaya in the morning - baba would switch on the tv early in the morning to listen to Mahalaya (it was very irritating back then!!)
It meant new clothes...invariably ended-up buying jeans and salwar kameez (which i used for regular wear) and wear my mother's saris (which were not new at all!)
It meant ma taking out her jewellery from locker (the not so heavy ones but showy enough to make an impression).
It meant baba hunting for sponsors for the local pujo-bari, it also meant some politics! people complaining about the reigning poojo-committee and trying to nit-pick. Long discussions/debates (some of them quite loud) on how to make our pujo stand out from the neighbouring one over never-ending supply of tea.
It meant dressing up in the finest of saris and admire oneself...trying to figure out if i look better than my oh-so-glamorous cousin (who always came back with tales of the most handsome guys in the pandal checking her out and wondering how much of it was exaggeration!) and of course checking out guys (only the most handsome ones!).
Doing rounds of all pujo-baris (CRPark and Delhi Kalibari were a must) and trying to figure out which durga murti was the most beautiful one.
It meant never cooking at home - bhog during the day - at night seekh kabab, chicken tikka, and so much more!
It meant night outs, watching plays enacted by local drama groups, music shows by bollywood singers/modern bengali singers - some of them horrendous, some pretty good.
It also meant ma dishing out mouth watering nimkis and nadus for bijoya.
All this seems so far away now. It has been 3 years since i have been back home during poojo.
Ma baba get especially senti during this time of the year and go on a we-wish-you-were-here mode. Ma called-up and told me they celebrate poojo in HK (apparently she is more informed!). But don't think i will go...it's won't be the same. Attended last years pujo in singapore at Ramakrishna Mission...it was nice...but wasn't the same....Hopefully next years poojo will be in Delhi!
For those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about (Durga puja), check this site for more information:
http://www.bangalinet.com/durgapuja.htm
