Monday, October 22, 2007

Asche bochhor abar hobe (It'll happen again next year!!)

In case you did not get it, this a line spoken out loud by jsut about every other Bengali breathing now (infants and toddlers excluded!!). Wondering why?? You see starting th 17th of October this year Bengalis the world over celebrated Durga Puja. Five days of worshipping the goddess and loads of celebration. The flavor of puja remains the same everywhere it is celebrated. And the hub of it all is Kolkata. For the third year in a row I spent the puja away from Kolkata. This year it was in Pune. Now, there are many die hard bongs who would claim that puja in Pune cannot match up to Kolkata. I agree but partially. The decoration and glamour is missing. But what is in plenty is the attitude that one sees.

The idol at Khadki Kalibari, Pune (2006)

Sample this: it 2:00 am, different team of youngsters gather at prominent puja location. Guitars, Pepsi, smokes and water in tow..... the plan is to rock the place. How? Well... simple... sing!! Oh yes!! Singing on till it was 5:00 am. And trudging back, for one has to turn up again early the next day. Sleep is meant for daytime, if you cannot find anything to do..... but then, for youngsters this is the perfgect time to do anything with full permission. At no other time of the year can you flirt with such ease with any girl you fancy. It seems that all the beautiful ladies start coming out of the wood work..... and that's when we guys realise why they say Bengali girls are the most beautiful.

It is during the same time period that Navratri is celebrated, culminating on the 4th day of the Puja. The navratri brings in 9 days of dance, music and Devi worship. The tenth day is Dussera, the day it is believe that Lord Ram defeated the evil Ravan to claim his lady Sita. It is also the last to Durga Puja, the day being noted as Vijaya Dashami. It is marked with the immersion of the Goddess idol in the river and later the burning of an huge effigy of Ravan.

And now it's all over....... People should be tired after all the dance, the pandal-hopping (going around to catch a glipmse of all the idols in town), gourmet pleasures. But then, who has ever been tired after having a good time??

Not me!! How about you??
The moments that one lives through during these few days remain forever etched in the mind. And it is to relive these moments again... the call of "Aschhe bochhor abar hobe exists!!"
On this note, "Shubho Bijoya" and "Happy Dussera" to everyone!! :)

13 comments:

Cuckoo said...

Not me either !!!

Best thing I like about this is 'Sandhi Pujo' and the sound of Dhak. Oh just love those moments.

Sam said...

U said it girl... and the sindoor khela on the last day... wud luv to see someone during dat... but alas, der is stil some waiting to be done for dat!! :(

Sudeep said...

i know only 2 bengali lines:
Aami bangla bujhte pari bolte pari na.. n .. aami tumake baalo bashe
both come handy in times.. he he

shubh bijoya n happy dusshera to u..

i think durga puja celebrations take place in congress bhavan in pune, right?

Bengali gals are most beautiful
*agrees with both hands raised* :)

Sam said...

ah well.... loadsa places...
congress bhavan, PCMC, viman nagar, KP, salunke vihar, BMCC, govind gardens, off baner pashan rd, AFMC, air force.
in fact the night long soiree i have mentioned took place at congress bhavan on saturday night...

The 'Mad' Orchid said...

Hey Sam...
Wel wel Happy Pujos to u too buddy..watte coincidence even i updated wid pujos ..check it out...:)ABAR AASHBEN MA FIRE... :)

Occasional Brilliance said...

shubh bijoya...

Phoenix said...

so well said....

this is the first year despite being a bengali i spent my pujas in true bong style...from anjali to hearing dhakis in the evening..from sondhi pujo to whole nite pandal hopping..from astami r bhog to boron and sindur khela...it was one happy time....

i was practically in tears to think there wont be these lights...there wont be these moments of undiluted fun and not even unrestricted freedom just for those days... but...

ASHCHEY BOCHOR ABAR HOBEY......

subho bijoya and
happy dussera to you and your family

Pri said...

"shubho bijoya" though i think im a bit late...
neways hope u had a rocking time...
and u wont believe it i actually said "aschhe bochhor abar hobe" aloud around 5 times to get it right making everyone around me wonder wht im muttering :p

Sam said...

@mads: sure thing.. will do so asap!!

@mann: same to u girl... how ws u puja??

@phoenix: aah!! u really enjoyed it.. am jealous!! :)

@pri: god!! u silly girl... can't blv u really did dat!! lol.....

WritingsForLife said...

hmm interesting info.. I never knew about this :)

Keshi said...

Happy Dussera to u too Sam!

Keshi.

Sam said...

@raaji: glad to be of help!! :)

@keshi: happy dussera to u too!! :)

Anon said...

havnt ever seen the durga puja at kolkatta (infact nowhr save delhi!) but the im sure the spirit in other places is nvr in short supply! i end up visiting the pandals every year atleast once or twice n the whole thing is intoxicating... the singing, the spirit, the way everyone is all dressed up, the excitement...everythin :)