Swagata Banerjee

As the monsoon bids goodbye, the season of autumn gradually sets in. The settling of the dew drops on the blades of the green grass and the fragrance of the Harsingar flowers all around, only symbolise that Nature too is becoming pleasant to welcome the Divine Mother.

The very mention of Durga Puja brings a sparkle in the eyes and cheer in the hearts of all Bengalis. Although the festival is celebrated all across the country but in West Bengal it has a unique style and charm of its own. In my childhood Durga Puja vacation was something I would look forward to. It was that time of the year when I could spend some precious time in presence of my maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts. During those years shopping was mostly an annual affair and it was during this festive season that my mother would take a lot of effort to explain the nitty-gritty of the designs to the tailor, to make each dress of mine quite exclusive. Many years cousins would also visit from the nearby towns making the occasion merrier.

Dawn would break to the beats of the festive drums from the nearby ‘pandals’.  We the younger lot would collectively pluck flowers and make garlands out of them. Cleaning and cutting of the fresh fruits and neatly arranging them on a plate to offer the Goddess, too was our domain. Soon the prayers would be offered at the venue and we cousins would all return to the aroma of the fresh breakfast made in clarified butter using fresh coconuts and molasses by our granny.  The entire experience was so enriching.

Soon after all the cousins would take out the individual small petty cash, to count all the money to spend during the Pujas. The more the noise from the jingle of coins, the louder the claps by us. A munch of rolls, a few cutlets and a chocolate bar with that money made the evenings so memorable. The concept of Durga Puja in the past few years has witnessed a notable transformation. The traditional style has given place to the concept of the Theme pujas. Crores of rupees go into making of the pandals, where through sculptures, scripts and lights, mass awareness is created. How to keep the surrounding clean, how to extend helping hand towards the elderly and special people and many other concepts are portrayed. Well change is inevitable, it is the only constant. Amidst all the adornment and glitter what is truly lost is the simplicity. Today’s children are spoilt of choices. Wearing branded clothes, walking into cafes and having fast food at restaurants run by MNCs, by paying fat prices, and spending nights with friends outdoors have become the order of the celebration. These have replaced the carefully designed dresses by the parents, the joy in sharing the homemade sweets cooked by the tender and loving hands of grandmothers and aunts.

The simple pleasures are like sound health, its value realised only when lost.