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| Joyee n me - Last yrs Puja |
Most of my school
days were spent in Air Force Campus where the venue was the same – only the
idols changed. Cut away from a large part of city, any kind of Puja was a large
celebration for the well knit community whether it was Onam or Ganesh Chaturthi.
In my Junior school days, being the creative sort I was dragged into – Tagore dance to Disco dance. While
Goswami Kakima lovingly taught me the various postures of Tagore dance,
Mithunda stepped into my life & became a hero/guru for a long-long time
till I saw Grease / Staying Alive & then of course MJ happened. But it was
so much fun – practicing for hours for so many days, nights actually & then
dress rehearsal when everything was perfect but on the day of performance
something or the other will never work – leading to usual screaming & chaos
at the last minute. But what I looked forward to was the food, playing with
friends, and being away from Ma- Baaba’s eyes – so I could do what I want to
do.
Senior school was
about eye balling the crowd & and if luck smiles getting to know few girls
whom we boys wanted to know but no coincidences will put both of us together. But
our group was confident that all bangali parents will drag their daughters for
the puja – all (ethnically) decked up to boot so it is one occasion we wouldn’t
want to miss. Since large part of the school was also present – it was
something to brag about & have fun by daring your friends & make them
look like idiots.
Teenage – Initial
Working days were the days away from home, where you came in as a special guest
were more interested in catching up on your sleep (those days there were no
internet & no mobile) & books rather than attending the puja. Ayn Rand, Krishnamurthy (& many others
but these were the game changers) stepped in heavy & made me objective
& question – all our rituals – because everything looked so hypocritical,
steeped in tradition which had no logic
& reason. Visit to the pandaal, was going to please Ma–Baaba & to
get introduced to unfamiliar uncles & aunties – because I gave the bragging
rights (rightfully deserved & no pun intended) to my parents in introducing
me as someone who studied away, then working away & so on and so forth.
Marriage changed
everything – suddenly it became a BIG family event with families from both
sides wanting to showcase the match made in heaven (actually Sunday Times matrimonial) so it was all about
introductions & background – our job was to deck up in the cloths given by
our parents & of course jewelry & plonk ourselves on the rented plastic
chairs (they haven’t changed in 15 years –
I am sitting on one right now) & the drama would unfold. Depending on
where you are – your embarrassment & “when will this end period” differed.
Kids took the
focus away from puja to operations & managing kids – from diapers to
selecting the dress & accessories (both of them being girls) to go in time
for Anjali & answer their queries as to why not to eat before Anjali to
carrying steel plates + spoons to standing in the queue & literally
elbowing people so that they can eat to trying out rolls, egg devil, paturi &
taking selfie – Phew!! it has been one rollicking journey till they WENT AWAY.
Today, as I sit
on a plastic chair not wanting to stand in a queue of 200 + people waiting to
give Anjali with 2 Bhog coupons in my pocket & looking at people milling
around, gossiping, enjoying the most oiliest & unhygienicaly made food &
dancing to an invited Bengali artist, tattoos of various types unknowingly or
knowingly exhibited – I know I will be here again next year & year after
next probably till I breath my last not questioning or finding a logic for
being here.
Just being here
is like letting go – from the mundane, objective, disciplined life that
occupies most of our days to a chaotic, aimless & take it as it comes bonhomie for few days in a yr.
