Durga Pujo: .. A Celebration of the Bengalis.
It will not be an overstatement to say that Bengalis spend a significant time of the year… planning and deciding everything about the Durga Puja… I will not be overly wrong to say that we, in fact, start planning even before the present celebrations are over..
You see… Bengalis never shy from learning from mistakes… and gathering information….
“Blouse ta kotha theke baniyechis r??? wow !! looks ghyam..”
And the women.. always eyeing on the saree and how it is worn and carried by a certain hot lady or a Boudi !!!... its like…. “Apsara dekhi kya?.... no dressing sense at all !!!”
Mention judging… and just sit back and listen to the mindless banters that goes on in front of the Puja Mandap amidst loud chanting of mantras by the purohit…
Nothing stops a women and her banters !
By the way.. Most of us wear multiple sets of clothes.. There are morning outfits.. evening outfits.. in-between outfits… and also emergency outfits.. and most of us will wear appropriate accessories to with the outfit…
We also plan for the junk food that we will savor .. with a guilt off course… and a hygiene point at the back of our mind… which we are so happy to put off… Let’s eat .. Bruh !!!
This year Durga Puja 2021 was no less than a carnival for me.. action packed week of #notimetospare !!
It all started a few months back when we sat together for meetings. Pensive at first, I was not sure of my involvement.. was still contemplating on the idea of… #toLlikeorNot !!!
But as the tempo increased, I became a part of the gang.. and say what.. I was loving it all. .. I was in fact looking forward for the grand event.
The Story in #Hashtags.
#DurgaPujo_2021 has given me tremendous insight…
Ø Of people..
Ø Of attitudes…
Ø Of situations…
Ø Of perceptions…
Ø Of patience…
Ø Of promises.. !
Once again I learnt that promises are just empty words… used or blurted out to fill up a temporary void… which can be forgotten /denied upon when purpose is over.
I came close to a few people.. who have different views of life.. who have seen life from a different perspective.. mostly Teachers.. and they have unknowingly taught me a thing or two… they have told me..
Ø Learning never stops.. If you stop learning, you stunt your growth.
Ø Good behaviour with the right attitude can win you anything ..
This puja has released my inner self… my true self… and guess what … my spirit have irritated the demons in many… not that I care anymore… I stopped caring long back.
Accept me as I am…. If you can’t… Get lost. …
Life is continuous series of natural and spontaneous changes… resisting them only creates sorrow… Let it flow… Let it GO.
This Puja was all about fun and becoming who I am.
Durga Puja is actually, the celebration of ‘life’ and the joy of ‘living’ more than anything else.
Live and let live…
This year, specially, it was about creating more memories.. .. Yes memories created… moments lived…. New alliances and friends made… and a few of them will definitely be in the long run .. but again Life… has weird ways of twisting things around.. so no #expectations again.
If you are friends with me.. I am your friend… If not… clear the path !
The lesson learnt is .. . : “Most people don’t want to be a part of the process.. they just want to be a part of the outcome…. BUT… the process is where you figure out who is worth being a part of the outcome” .
It was all about wishing each other well… about feeling the divinity and spreading the good vibes..
The most remarkable moments that I always experience is during Sondhi Pujo.. The confluence of Ashtami and Navami.. I cannot explain what I feel… .. my mind becomes empty.. … I can’t think of anything.. .. and my heart… only resonates the dhak beats..
I am yet not over with the celebrations.. at the back of mind, its probably still going on … because of the pause of one year..
An insightful journey… into people’s hearts..
I have known what it is to accept people the way they are… fully acknowledging their emotional point of view. I have experienced the purity in people driven by passion and sheer emotion … and overwhelmed.. in the way people have waited patiently in the Q for pushpanjali… conducted without flowers… the fact that people have embraced the ritual discarding the material…is immense personal growth.. I feel.
I have seen the peace and love in hundreds eyes while taking the aarti… have been close to raw emotions… which is such a privilege in this world full of fakes !
I have experienced sheer overwhelm and love from people I hardly knew a day before…
Pure love without any knowledge of the fact who I am…
I have seen people searching for me by my whatsapp profile picture .. and welcoming me with the purest of smiles..
A stark difference from people who have known me… and have chosen to become strangers…
Good Luck to them on their way ahead…
Has taught me to accept … that some people remain as an example of whom to avoid in life.
Has taught me to reciprocate to people in need without expecting they will be there when I need them…
People have connected with me… asked me to be there… and then have become strangers again !!! ...without any explanation. !!... I have accepted the sorry that was never there !!!
Have learnt … to …. LET GO…. Wishing them Luck…
Has taught me that maybe the journey isn’t about becoming anything… Maybe its un-becoming everything that isn’t really #ME.
Its all about avoiding the bruises and collecting the scars that makes me who I am…
It was a great learning that Happiness can only exist in Acceptance .
Also, Have the courage to accept both Compliments and Criticism.
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THE WILLING HEART
Has taught me not go about looking for answers…
Sometimes the situation is better left un-attended… sometimes things are not meant to be understood… just accepted.
Sometimes people look at others for answers… which they already know… a Validation.. maybe !!
Undauntingly and Un-Willingly as well..., I had the responsibility of being the ‘guy’ … people were looking to !!
Right and Wrong answers … co-exist in all situations.
Right people just make a choice and make it a right answer.
Foolish people regret the decision and make it a wrong answer.
There is no right answer in life … there is only a process to make it right.
Let Go ..Understand . ..
Let Go.. of certainity…
Certainity that people will stay true or not true.. to their words.. inspite of situations they encounter….
Understand the fact that people are simply slaves to situations .. ..
The opposite of Certainity is not Uncertainty. … Most of the times its just Arrogance..
CERTAINITY … is mostly of open-ness… curiosity, and a willingness to embrace the paradox, rather than choose up sides.
The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves… exactly as we are.. but, never stop trying to learn and grow.
Whether you choose to move on and take a chance in the unknown..
Or stay behind … locked in the past.. thinking of what could’ve been …
Or succumb to wrong answers …
Or start accepting without questions…
Or … Let others take over your dreams…
Or … Simply fake a Smile….
It was all about the beat of Dhak from the very beginning which directly hits the heart… every year when I first hear the dhak, it gives me goosebumps.. my entire being reverberates with the echo of conch shells, which is no less than a divine feeling.
I have realised. .. that there is only one issue.. : Man’s lack of experience in feeling his divine self .. and his innate connection with the divine.
All other issues stem from this.
People fail to understand and realize that the journey within is the ultimate solution to all troubles and problems.. With our divine connection, we are always in touch with the solutions we are seeking.
To sum up all.. I am definitely not the same person who started off with the Puja Meetings…
The insights received and realizations.. has changed me a little more..
I have come too far this time.. and hardened a lot more..
Me.. Myself and I … that’s all I got in the end.
I have learnt to speak to myself… like someone.
I … refuse to exist in other people’s imaginations… in other people’s respect or even in other people’s fake love…
I am just #ME .. existing happily in my own realm. I have learnt .. to let the space between where I am and where I want to be .. inspire me and not terrify me.
To be fully seen by somebody… and then loved anyhow… with the knowledge that they will become strangers in the wink of an eye .. this is a human offering that can border on Miraculous. ..
Life’s way of making me a little bit more strong and trust even less.
I am #REAL.
