hunky dory

its an observation

Durga puja is my favourite part of the calendar. We Bengalis wait in eager anticipation for this time of the year. It is the time to rejoice, to unite, to have fun in unison, to smile for no reasons at all.

The streets of Kolkata will be glistening with the colourful festive lights. There will be uncountable bill-boards all over showcasing puja advertisements. Men and women, decked in their traditional Bengali attire will throng the streets , in pairs, or with friends or with their family. People will be hale and hearty. Girls and women , alike, will tend to naturally glow in sheer beauty.

People will gorge on food�"oily food, greasy food, delicacies, endless ‘mishti’s will do the rounds. Everyone will make merry, “let their hair down”.

I can already hear the resounding ‘dhaaks’. A sort of vibrance in the air- its Durga puja again!

And…

They are always invisible. The other face of our ‘Bharat’ , that is. We live in India at Kolkata. They are the residents of Bharat. Not that they are aware of it.

During the four days of our madness  , they will be even less visible to us. We will walk the streets, our new shoes will shine, so much so that, the people of Bharat , will be blinded. The hems of our dresses will touch them as we will glide by�"they will try to clutch at them but they will slip out of their hands. And their hands will be empty except their aluminium bowls.

 They will not line up to push through, to get a glimpse of the ‘oh-so-huge’ Durga idols, the flashiest of themes, the most innovative of pandals.

They will still have to carry on with their threadbare clothes and the bare minimum.

People will sway from side to side, walking�"high on alcohol. Drunken glory. While they will sway from side to side, begging�"waiting for some altruist.

Yes there will be plastic cups lying hither and thither. The road-side stalls will bask in glory. People will after all be tired of so much of pandal-hopping. Some respite �" a brief break; chowmein, rolls, kebabs, Pepsi or maybe vodka for some over-enthusiastic ones.

The paper plates, the plastic cups, will pile up, one over the other, one beside the other. The dogs will diligently try to sniff through, eat their bit and trot away.

And the people who have aluminium bowls, will come there too­­---eat the left-over. Ssshhhhhh…secretively.  No one should see. Oh!the police will drive them away�"shoo! They will be back to their homes or their make-believe homes!

Reviews

[Pradeep Nair]

there is a lot imagination, creative visualization, realism in here.
a local touch to the already strong theme, make it more powerful.
expecting more...

[SOHINI BASU]

thank you so much :) i will definitely try to :)