Friday, September 25, 2009

Ma Durga...Goddess of Good times!!

Come Durga puja and you can detect the spring in the Bengali's step and the desire to eat sing and be merry for the 4 days of the goddess's stay. The puja in Bangalore is based on the New Delhi model with great food and lots of cultural programmes. Today is ashtami the high point of the pujas and the entire family is fast asleep as they are tired from last nights bingeing!!
We started our outings on shasti, ie day before yesterday...I took the kids to get their first glimse of the goddess at Koramangala, near our house. It rained incessantly but we managed somehow to reach Indira Nagar to catch the performance of 2 little sisters of mine, daughters of my father's cousin. It was an evening of song and dance and lots of rain and some amazing egg, chicken rolls!!
Yesterday we returned to koramangala and participated in the 'anjali' thereafter the children took part in a sit and draw competition held in the pandal. The kids and I had 'bhog' and returned home. In the evening we came to know that the Brat Girl has won frist prize in her group in the drawing competition! There were music programmes all evening and we relished Nizaam's rolls and biriyani with the beautiful tunes filling the air- bengali folk, old and new Bengali and Hindi songs....it felt line being in a rock festival!!Today we will be off soon for the ashtami 'pushanjali' soon. The brat will get her prize in the afternoon prize distribution and we will go for the community feast or bhog...thereafter let's see where the mother goddess takes us.
By the way, I love the Koramangala purohit....he is soooo cute! With flowing white beard and beady eyes...but the problem is that we can't hear the anjali mantras clesrly as the words get lost in his beard!!








4 comments:

Indian in NZ said...

Wow ! COngrats to the Brat for the first prize in the drawing competition !! YOu should post a pic of her prize winning drawing. Happy Dussera to you Diya !

Rohit said...

Yeh I also would like to see the award wining painting :)
There is one Bengali student in my dorm. And I can't tell you how much he is missing the Durga Puja.
Happy Dusharah......

diya said...

Heartiest Dussera greetings to you and all lurkers too (if there are any). She was asked to make the picture of a rainy day...we have the drawing, will scan and post it.

diya said...
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