The celebration of Shakti

Its once again that time of the year when we Bengalis celebrate the Durga Puja ... the festival that harps on the theme of good triumphing over evil. Of course to an innocent bystander this would be no less than torturing a cliche. However, you have to witness the festival in its full splendour to actually judge its true magnitude and the significance it holds for the common man of Bengal.

To the quintessential critic the whole significance of the festival will be lost. True, it involves unimaginable amounts of money being spent on what seems to be paltry, meagre things. However, the fact is that just like the Western world celebrates Christmas, a major portion of the Indian community revels in the "Navaratri" -- on a similar note the Bengalis celebrate Durga Puja. The poor, ordinary man waits for these four days of enjoyment with incredible, even inexplicable, enthusiasm that permeates the whole community. The wait is now almost over and the excitement is just too much for words to describe. One can perhaps find a very close parallel in the IIT Kharagpur Illumination festival. The fantastic structures that are held aloft by bamboos and illuminated by only oil diyas are sheer poetry. During those few hours the hard work of several days culminate in full grandeur and brings a smile to the faces and triumph into the hearts of the KGPian. Similarly, the Durga Pujas work towards uniting the whole community in an endeavour to enjoy and pray at the same time.

Well that's about it for now. Happy pujas...

see you soon