When the Goddess visits

Durga Pooja-the season predictably preceded by a vehement discussion on the significance of her mode of transport and what it signified. Would the Goddess be a harbinger of prosperity,war,floods or peace?Well,this really was dependent on whether she chose to ride an elephant,a horse, maybe opt for a "palquin" or walk it all the way.Yes,it was time;time for ceaseless celebrations!

The neighborhood children would suddenly turn so active.I remember running around the locality from one house to another,one hall to another,rehearsing just like the others for the upcoming dance or song competition, enacting characters in skits,brushing up on bollywood music knowledge for the Antarakshi competition,practicing and trying hard to perfect a certain painting for an art competition, appearing for endless screening tests of preliminary selection procedure for the final quiz round to be held later,or maybe simply helping out a family getting costumes ready for the kid for a fancy dress competition. The enthusiasm was contagious and soon the adults would be equally occupied if not more.

My favorite memories are of the alu chop stalls selling all kinds of fried delights. It was so easy opting not to remember any elderly advice against their consumption.The pocket money and Pooja bonus handed over by relatives and family friends would be well spent on them and on buying tiny water balloons, designer balloons, bindis,bangles and other such treasures. 

Every year there used to be a theme around the Pooja Mandaps; from Ice Age to the great African Safari.Our curiosity knew no bounds and every morning as we waited for the school bus right  next to the construction site, a mental note on  the daily progress was made.This lasted till the last day of school before the holidays started and our inquisitiveness would be satiated not before day one of the auspicious three days for which goddess Durga paid us a visit.

This was the season when the entire city would come out to the streets and shop for everything new.Clothes,utensils, electronic items and maybe even cars.We kids loved showing off our new frilly frocks, six in all,making it possible for us to change twice a day!

Every year, on any one or on all the days we would wait our turns to be seated and then devour the traditional Bhog consisting of Khichuri,Dalna,Papod, Bhaja,Doi, Mishti and Payesh .Nothing tasted better on a Pooja day than this ; perfectly complimenting the occasion.

"Pandal Hopping" was a favorite activity. As stated earlier,themes could be anything from the Titanic,Hawa Mahal, Red Fort to Burning Trains-creative juices in full flow eying the customary trophy and a big fat cheque. Lighting was another important part of it and hiring lighting artists from Calcutta was in vogue for many years.Personally, I would score the idols basis their beauty quotient and would root for the one with the prettiest looking and best clad "Ma Durga" and a hideous looking, despicable "Maheshashur" to go.

On such days, cars stuffed with people,way beyond the prescribed or acceptable limits, would rule the roads of Shillong.Loud music,louder laughter, elbows jutting out from the car windows and semi-dangling limbs were common.

The rush on the Navami (day three) nights when the "Orchestra from Calcutta or Guwahati" would come play all the jazzy bollywood numbers was no less than one in any Sonu Nigam concert.

The Dahsami was the most chaotic of all the days.Married ladies in long queues exchanging sindoor in traditional Bengali sarees (white with red borders), holding plates of sage, sweets,flowers shortly to be offered to Ma Durga; their children with school books of their dreaded subjects awaiting their turn to seek the blessing of the Goddess and sneak in a petal and a half from her garland into the pages thereby sealing fate.Yes,they were sure to excel in the next test!

The Aarti competition grew intense, and the Dhol which after every half an hour would resound throughout the locality marking time and again the festivities and the victory of good over evil , sounder louder than ever.

Goodbyes as we know, are always hard.Trucks would line up and the strongmen would lift the heavy idols and place them gently onto the trucks, one exclusively for her while her companions would be packed into another.It was a norm  for cars,bikes,and pedestrians to follow the trucks. This convoy had no limit and could stretch up to any number of vehicles and people.The pace would  grow incredibly slow and one could not miss the sudden gloom settling in.Tears,broken hearts and mayhem followed once the convoys from the hundreds of Pandals from all around town converged at a particular point making their way one by one to place the idols in the river thereby completing the act of "bisharjan" 

Prizes, holy water, sacred thread and boxes of sweets would be distributed the same evening. This more or less marked the end of her visit this year. 

Though hearts would grow heavy,and the pace of the town would slow down, normalcy was regained usually in a week's time.And yes, the excitement was back! After all, Diwali was next!