Sharad Utsav

Nandini and I went to Dehradun before the Pujas to celebrate Sharad Utsav, also known as Durga Puja. We had been classmates during our graduation years. Anjali, a Garhwali thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Autumn Festival, so we were a group of four with the addition of Geeta. We had been keen on celebrating since the beginning, so on Mahalaya day, we woke up at 3:30 am. After completing our morning routines, the others strolled over to my house as we all lived nearby. Nandini and I had lost our fathers a few years ago, and Anjali's father was bedridden, but Geeta's parents were still around. Maa always welcomed us with open arms, as did our brothers and their families. At 4 am, the radio was turned on, to hear the rich resonating voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra and the sounds of Mahishasura Mardini filled the air, marking the beginning of our festive season celebration.

Mahalaya is an auspicious day. It is believed that Goddess Durga begins her journey on this day and comes down to earth, and thus the celebration. Until Panchami, we showed each other our clothes, which we would put on the Puja days. On Panchami, we had the ‘Ananda Mela’. Trust Me.’ We friends made ‘Patishapta.’ It is a Bengali delicacy consisting of soft crepes filled with either kheer or coconut-gur mixture. We also carried a small electric heater in case someone wanted a hot plate.

We had an in-house celebration, and our patishapta sold out quickly. We decided that the money profited would go to the Puja festivity. On Shasti and Saptami we went to the ‘Barowari Puja’, Bengali Samiti near our house. On Mahashtami we decided to walk up King Road the good old Rajpur Road to the Ramakrishna Mission. Here the Swami Ji’s do ‘Ghot Pujo’ a kalash filled with holy water and decorated with marigold flowers etc. This ghot is also known as ‘Devi Ghot’.

It

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was a bright sunny day and the beauty of autumn was certainly evident with the changing of leaves to brilliant oranges to lime yellow- a victory of scream, a rush of pleasure-I am there feel the touch. Yes, you read it right that Dehradun has deciduous trees so Autumn or the Fall is the time of change of new beginnings, and the more I write, be short of description.

On this beautiful day, we started to walk and our parents followed us. Some of them took a lift who were going to the Mission. The first batch of ‘Anjali’ had started by the time we reached the place. All of us wore lovely sarees. After the Pushpanjali ceremony, we strolled in the beautiful garden filled with various kinds of flowers. There was a stunning display of marigold flowers in yellow, orange, and red colours swaying in the breeze.

 Back in those days, we didn't have smartphones, so capturing photos was out of the question. All we had were the cherished memories we carried with us. We made a point of skipping the first few rounds of serving 'Khichuri Bhog' as we believed that the children and elderly should be served first. When the third round came, my friends and I sat together on a handloom tapestry called 'satranji' that covered the floor.

The Khichuri Bhog was served on banana leaves along with some vegetable fries, labra (a mixed vegetable dish), and chalta, also known as Elephant Apple chutney. We topped off the meal with the delicious 'payesh'. As it was past 4 o'clock, it was time to bid adieu. We all walked back home and later in the evening, we attended the 'Arti' and enjoyed a dance drama in which many schoolchildren participated. After Bijoya Dashmi, it was time for us to pack our suitcases and head for Kolkata on the Doon Express. With heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our loved ones and the Doon Valley.

Chakraborty Meenakshi