The small shack was hot and sultry. Binapani, its hapless owner, looked up thoughtfully towards the gaping hole in her thatched roof. The harsh October sun scorched her bare back as she adjusted her soiled sari to cover it and shaded her eyes as she waited with bated breath. It was the morning of Bijoya Dashami, the last day of the five-day festivities that celebrated the homecoming of the Goddess Durga. For Bengal and its diaspora all over the world, this was a day filled with sadness and forlornness. A…
Tag: Durga Puja
Bijoya Dashami – Farewell to the Mother
As they lifted her off the platform on which she was stationed for five long days, I felt a lurch in my heart. It felt as if a part of my heart itself was being displaced. I looked into her eyes that were filled with kindness and love for the millions who revered them. It felt as if she was forgiving me for all my faults and assuring me to continue harboring hope and faith.I was bidding farewell to our Mother. I was preparing for one of the most painful…
Durga Puja – The Charm continues
Once upon a time when life was without its whys and what ifs, a little girl lived in her own magical world in the southern part of Calcutta (which we now know as Kolkata). The locality she lived in was inhabited by simple middle class people with mediocre dreams and aspirations. There were no high rise constructions overshadowing the sky and trams tinkled and trundled on their defined paths. Her house, lovingly built by her grandfather, had a huge shiuli(small white flowers with an orange stalk . It is associated with…
