No more dhaaks. No more heel-tola jutos. No more traffic jams on the streets of Kolkata at 4.30 am. And soon, the cousin from Delhi, the kaka from Canada and that best friend from the US will be on their way back.
Durga Pujo withdrawal is a real thing, guys, and the naysayers have clearly never experienced Durga Pujo in Bengal. The feeling, let me tell you, is worse than that of your last ten break-ups combined.
Now, the Bengali festival calendar does not allow us to ‘forget and move on’ (like we’d do after a break-up).
No, because exactly a week after Durga Pujo comes Lokkhi Pujo (the Bengali Lakshmi Puja), also known as Kojagori Lakshmi. Then, ten days later, we’ll have Kali Pujo when the rest of the country celebrates Diwali. Two days after that, we’ll have Bhai Phota (Bhai Dooj).
So you see, Goddess Durga has ensured that her children and other forms keep us entertained in the post-pujo lull.
But that is exactly what makes it worse, because while these pujos are beautiful (and fun!), it is not THE Pujo.
The Pujo is when a city that is known to ‘take it easy’ bustles with energy, as men and women dressed in their best clothes take it upon themselves to outshine one another in the fashion department.
There is also the ‘Kota thakur dekhle?’ competition.
For the uninitiated, ‘Kota thakur dekhle?’ (or ‘How many idols have you seen?’) is the most-used phrase during Durga Pujo. You have to respond with the number of pandals you’ve managed to see after navigating the maddening crowd and if your count is higher than that of the person asking the question, you’ve definitely won that round.
Then, of course, is the big-heartedness of the Bengali parents during this time.
For people known to ‘i’ (haggle) for the Rs 100 slippers from Gariahat, Bengali parents become really magnanimous during the five days of Durga Pujo.
So yes, you can order the mutton chop AND the prawn cutlet., the egg-chicken roll AND the fish fry, the deviled egg AND the chicken chaap.
And not to forget, what people with our kind of dispensation enjoy the most — Kolkata’s nightlife during these five days.
A city which sleeps early sees the most popular restaurants serving food at midnight. Clubs which shut at midnight, stay open till 4 am.
And if that is not your scene, then trust me, a prawn cocktail at Mocambo tastes even better at 1 am, right after you’re done with your home-drinking scenes and just before you head out for your pujo porikroma (pandal-hopping).
Speak to anyone in Bengal right now and they’ll tell you that the ‘pujo ashche’ (pujo is coming) feeling is better than the actual pujo. Why? Because the five days seem like five hours. That’s how quickly time passes.
Before you know it, it’s Dashami and you see your mother in a laal-paar saree doing boron to the goddess. You tear up, both because your mother looks like a goddess herself after she’s been smeared with sindoor, and also because your stomach falls to the floor at the thought of the madness finally ending.
But in your heart, you know that we wouldn’t value Pujo lasted year long. If we didn’t experience a vacation without actually going on vacation.
We have to let the Goddess go so that she can come back again next year. To light up our lives and leave us teary-eyed at the end of it.
And that’s why we say, Aasche bochor aabar hobe — next year, we shall do it all over again.
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