Indranil Banerjee

“Where is your native place,” place asked my colleague when he got to know I am heading home for Durga Puja “It’s far away from cities towns and all around “I answered. Unsatisfied with the answer, he wanted to know more. “Leave it’s not, where I live or have lived, we have come out from that place a long ago”. I don’t know, why his face was like he had a lot of questions, he was quite interested, for I don’t know why, so I thought of putting my pen up for the same.

As far as I remember it was 2013, the last time I had been to my native. Since then I have never been to that place.

Far away from cities, towns and people is a small road connecting Burdwan -Gushkara state highway of West Bengal. This road leads to my native named “Deasa” and yes for your kind information, it is searchable in Google, it falls on taluk of Aushgram, Gushkara, a small town of West Bengal also known as Rice town of Bengal for producing and processing highest quantities of rice in a year in West Bengal.

It was a ritual for us to visit our “Gram” (Village) for those two days in Puja, for these days were very important us to be there.

We didn’t have a much big house or some great villa back in Deasa, but instead, a mud-built house supported with shaggy woods and covered with harvested dry husk. Although It was small, we had made the best memories of our childhood back in that place. The house usually remains locked for the entire year and no one has any idea of what happens to it during that tenure, the house is being like that for years after my grandfather passed away. I still remember that day, when they had put a big lock in that house after the Kriya got over, my father stood still, he wanted to say a lot of things but couldn’t since he had his projects settled outside West Bengal. First time in my life, I had seen him shedding tears, not because he missed someone, but the root of the tree to whom he was attached to the most, was not anymore. He never told this thing to anyone but his silence percolated everything. I was very young at that time but was matured enough to understand all those things.

Since then, we visit Deasa twice a year or you can say once, and those two days are precious ones ,it all starts with reaching there early morning through the most beautiful fields, mud roads and people who although may be very poor, but their faces had a charm not because they had something to flaunt or too proud off, even if you visit them after years, they will remember you and ask “Ki, Tahle Asa holo, pujo te ”(So, finally you have come to puja after a long time ).

Then, sitting together, arranging Thali (plate) for puja, thousands of gossips and a lot of things. We had our farmer, whose name I have forgotten, but he was a decent lanky fellow, he used to fetch water for us from the hand pump and there was a small open covering, which used to be the water tank for the whole day. And, yes the most important thing was bringing “Muri, Chop and Boondiya”(puff rice, potato stuff fry, and sweets) for everyone and me and my cousin were, most enthusiastic in doing that. There was a small shop “Gope ‘s Sweetshop ”where if you go some of our family members could be always seen eating there, even if it was supposed to be a fast for the whole day. Then use to come the main event “Sandhi Puja ”,that time of the year ,where people closing their eyes chanting prayers for life to Maa Durga, goddess of war, victory climbing on her Vahan (lion) and hence “Mahishasurmardini” saves the world from evils, bad energy and all those negative aspects of life which people are suffering from . She is “Inevitable” and if you search the meaning of this word in dictionary, it will tell you something different than what she was, even mahishasur with all of his boons that he got after doing a lot of prayers to Lord Brahma as said (although he didn’t want to give ) couldn’t stand before her

This moment is the most cherishable moment for everyone, ringing bells ,beating of percussions chanting of prayers after the priest and ambience filled with smoke of “Dhunuchi”(Holy smoke created by burning coconut peels and agar) couldn’t make anyone out of it and then used to come the Maha Balidan and followed by offerings of Arthi and it brings out all the joy among people coming from different parts of the world to Deasa for it . Those chants are the words of life bringing down pain, anger, suffering and many other things we deal with everyday life and that is followed by an old ritual of dancing together it’s called “Digambori” where some brats will sing and people will sing and dance along with them making around and everyone will come along with them till the group finishes the entire village and comes back to “Durga Dalan ”(temple courtyard) . Every year I use to see some old faces missing in that group, I never asked about them to people since they also didn’t have any idea of what happened to them. Oh, yes the most important was “Bhog”(Community lunch), not for us but for some people who eagerly use to wait to have two times meal once in a year.

That day in 2013, it was raining very heavily and we couldn’t get a place to sit for food, there were hundreds of people like us, waiting outside with a steel or a broken plate, since they were not supposed to eat in a plate provided by people and thereby so-called upper caste community had made a wall between them and us. But these people never used to mind, for them Ma Durga will sort out everything, she will shed off everyone’s pain, suffering, and problems and will bring joy to everyone’s home and the interesting fact was even being standing on the other side of the gate ,they had no regrets instead they had smile and believe on Ma Durga. Their belief on Ma Durga is not just offering puja with sweets, fruits, and flowers, it’s something beyond that or you may call it “inner connection ” that helps them fighting all the odds, and so-called poverty !! Actually, that’s not poverty for them, that’s their normal life and they are living for it, every day, every hour hoping that puja for that year will bring happiness in their life.

Adjacent to our house was a small place, a rectangular portion, where after lunch people used to sit and those long conversations never use to end. These days that place has changed into a shop, not a bigger one but it has a “telephone” in it and that’s why it is quite famous in the village.

The hand pump opposite to the entrance remained the same for years and there is a “Lifebuoy” leaflet attached to the wall adjacent to it. I wonder nobody has taken it out since then.

There is another interesting thing I could see that year, bottles filled with purple solutions hanging outside everyone’s houses. I asked one of the guys for what it was, to my surprise he told it is to keep dogs away from houses. I couldn’t find any scientific meaning behind that, but I consoled myself on people’s believe over it.

There have been a lot of changes since then, the number of people going there has considerably reduced, people have changed their lifestyle over years and moreover, this materialistic life has changed people from sitting and talking together to taking selfies, putting up stories on Instagram and a lot of other things. However changed it is, the place remained the same, the “Dhakis” (people who play percussions in puja) were the same and the food menu, and there have been no changes in it as well.

It’s been four years I didn’t had a glance of Ma, so this year I have decided to go back and see my place. I have no Idea, how it would be? Would people recognize me, will everything be the same ,and a bunch of questions surrounded me that entire night and the next morning started with “Bajlo Tomar Alor Benu” ( Ritual song which illustrates the nine-day war between Ma Durga and Mahishasur and its consequences to earth and heaven) and yes ,this day marks the beginning of Durga Puja and people who have lost their parents pay a tribute to them by going to river and backwaters.

This festival is just not a festival; it’s the inner feeling that comes out from every Bengali during this time of the year, words cannot express it neither expression can. It is something very emotional to which our sentiments are attached and the countdown, yes, it is finally over today.