This year I had the good fortune of visiting Kolkata during Durga Puja. It was long pending. The last time I had walked down those crazy light decored streets I was a toddler. I don't remember much of it besides the psychedelic light figurines and the off-white silk sarees in the crowd.
This year, I was there a few days before Mohaloya and watched the entire festival play out from the balcony of my maternal uncle's home in Garia. The streets were already fenced with bamboo poles which supported a variety of advertisement hoarding all around the city. Every locality has a club. Like there's the Raipur club in Raipur, Arunachal club near Ashok Trust and so on. These clubs had already done their share of collecting funds and various pandals were cropping up on open grounds. Each one with a distinct theme.
Every street bend boasted an aluminum speaker cone perched on an electric pole. And these cones blared out Rabindra Sangeet, a variety of safety announcements, advertisements and some praise for the local club - making the festive spirit very much a part of daily life. One couldn't escape the joviality even if they wanted to.
In the midst of all this, the skyline of Kolkata played out the most dramatic role. The clear sunny mornings would often give way to a display of ominous clouds by afternoon. A quick thunderstorm would be followed by raging rains - enough to drench one through within seconds. My favourite activity turned out to be watching the crows during these episodes.
While all the other birds would disappear and seek shelter away from the unmanageable winds, the crows would cheeky spread their wings and be flung around. They seemed to quite enjoy it. It seemed as though they were trying to get away but the more time I spent looking at them, I realized they were just moving round in circles, going with the flow almost. Street smart birds do it different I suppose.
If it rains before Pujo, it is said that Maa Durga is coming home on a boat. She doesn't always come on a boat though. Elephant, Horse, Palanquin, and Buffalo are her other modes of transport. But this year was clearly all about water. Here's bringing you some moments from these storms which ushered in Durga Pujo 2019.
