Sixth day of
Durga Pooja, four days more and all the excitement will fade away, familiar
faces will disappear, crisp and color of the new outfits will find its way to
stains and scratches, days will get busy, nights will get dimmer and the soothe
of mind will be lost somewhere in the pandemonium of the chaotic world. Durga
Ma’s idol will be gone in the depths of the ocean but the divinity and
exuberance will prevail in our hearts.
Somehow I
managed to cover a substantial portion of my syllabus today, however not
meeting my targets but still meeting my contentment and endurance! So I decided
to visit the Pooja Mandap today. I quickly got in to my newly bought Chinos and
a White Shirt, examined myself in the mirror (unfolded sleeves looked odd,
folded them!) and left for the “Poojo Badi” (how Bengalis address the place
where Goddess Durga’s idol is placed and all the rituals are carried out
religiously).
Now, Pooja
Mandap is a place where you are at a very vulnerable space to get encountered
by all your relatives (the few whom you love and the many whom you hate).
However it was something of the least importance for the very moment because,
all of them were waiting eagerly for the aarti and the dhank to begin.
As I entered, a mist of smoke surrounded me,
which consisted of that typical smell of dhuno. I was accustomed to that smell,
it presented soothe to the atmosphere. The ambiance was perfect – illuminated
with lights – decorated with flower bouquets. The chairs in the last row were
arranged in a decent pattern where as the front ones were haphazard (on account
of personal convenience and comfort). Men-women, husband-wife-children,
friends, acquaintances; everyone whom I could expect, nearly and remotely, were
present. I had cold feet to interact with them, however I’m quite efficient to
surpass that. I straightaway went through the passage, which was covered with a
lengthy red carpet, swiftly managed to escape their visions and landed right in
front of Durga Ma (‘s idol).
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