Durga Pujo Festival in Kolkata

Durga Pujo is one of the most popular festival among bengalis. The festival which is celebrated for 5 days is no longer isolated to the state of West Bengal in India but has spread across multiple cities withi India. Bengalis have taken this well loved festival wherever they have settled down. Outside India also this festival is celebrated with enthusiasm by the non-resident bengalis ... may it be USA or Canada.

But the festival is seen best in the city of Kolkata. All schools and colleges have a month long holiday to celebrate the festival and generally even professionals with high pressure jobs take it a little easy in this festive month. It is best experienced and best viewed on foot going from one pandaal to another and standing in long queues to have a look at the protima (diety). Inspite of a common rituals that are performed in the various pandaals that dot the city, there is a very sharp divide between the Pujo of North Kolkata and South Kolkata.

North Kolkata is more conservative, more tarditional and more inclined towards artwork. The love and dedication with which the artisans build the protima and pandaal shows. While in South Kolkata, wealth and power speak in the form of expensive pandaals, commericialisation of the pujo, the 'vesh-bhusha' of the protima.

This is a typical pandaal and Durga protima that can be found in North Kolkata..... pure artwork.

And this is a typical pandaal and Durga protima that can be found in South Kolkata......

A trend of attracting visitors and winning prizes in a city wide contest has started among the South Kolkata Pujo. They often boast of traditional dances being performed live. Like the one below - the Saunthaal dance is being performed in Moodi Ali pandaal. The ambience for the dance was given by the decorations on the wall.

Another trend that has started is that of commercialisation of pujo. Major brands put up their stalls around the pujo pandaal to promote their products and generate awareness among the visitors. Present among these stalls are also stalls selling bottled water and typical bengali food. Things like this lessen the gap between the pujo culture as is seen in cities like Delhi and pujo culture as is seen in Kolkata.

And as long as the festivities in the city are going on.... the Kolkata Police are alert and vigilant ensuring the security and the safety of the people of Kolkata... performing their duties tirelessly in the festive season... even when the entire city is celebrating....

Marketing skills at its best.....

The street vendors in the capital can teach the best marketting executive a thing or two about making the best use of available resources to promote their products. Here, the vendor is conviniently using a car parked in the parking lot of Connaught Place to display her wares in such a way that it looks attractive. Passers by can see the whole length of the product which gives a different impact than when you see it in the folded manner. Go upto her and ask her the price of the product ... she will not only answer you in perfectly accented english but also probably haggle with you to pay what she is asking since she has to pay the car owner a commission to display her wares... :-D

Images of Kolkata

During my recent visit to Kolkata there were many images that caught my attention since these are the views that I would be able to find in the lazy, laid back city of joy - Kolkata. Most of them have gained significance for me since they symbolise the soul of the Kolkata I knew during my growing up years and are now becoming very rare and on the verge of extinction.

The first one is the architectural style of the houses. Such houses can still be seen in North Kolkata and are a delight to see. They symbolise the old traditions of typical West Bengal.

They have become a rarity in most parts of Kolkata since they have been replaced by modern looking high rise blocks of apartments which look and feel the same irrespective of the city that they are found in. What stands out in this house are the large verandah in front of the house and the 'Khorkhori-tola' windows. These types of windows can be found in a few houses in North Kolkata these days. The speciality of these windows are that one can simply lift the blinds to let fresh air and sunlight come into the room without openeing the window thereby providing a sense of security.

Trams are the first motorised form of transport that was introduced in the city of Kolkata many centuries ago. Although the streets of Kolkata now witness fast paced cars, the metro and other superior means of motorised communication, the tram remains it's link to its past.

Trams are a means of transport that can only be found in the city of Kolkata in India and the government showed its interest in preserving its heritage by laying down new tram lines across the city worth crores of rupees. One of the drawbacks of this kind of transport system is that tram lines have to be laid down across the city for them to ply. They look something like railway tracks and play havoc with the roads of the city. Another challenge is the speed of commuting which is very slow. Still the sound of the bell of the tram which substitutes the horn of the modern day vehicle is always a delight to hear.

The hand pulled rickshaw also is typically found in the state of West Bengal. Often, that provides the only means of income to a family. Although the cycle pulled rickshaw is popular in the other parts of India, it has not made its presence felt in Kolkata.

The rickshaw puller often runs bare foot across the streets pulling his rickshaw behind him all because he cannot afford to buy a decent pair of shoes. Instead of horns they have use bells or verbally call out to the pedestrians to make way for him. With little to eat and the long hours that he needs to work to provide for his family, it is a very tough life for him. Each journey of 3-4 kilometers will probably earn him Rs 7 to Rs 10. Only of he makes 10 such journey in the entire day will he probably earn enough to feed his family for the day.

For someone who covers 30 to 40 kilometers per day to earn Rs 70 to Rs 100 it is indeed a very hard way of life. And with whatever he earns he has to support a family of 7-8 people. No wonder they can neither afford to send their children to school nor provide themselves with quality medical care. And they continue to inhabit the lower strata of the society.... with no means of breaking out of the vicious cycle.

A View of Dakhineshwar Temple

For those who don’t know, let me start by saying that Dakhineshwar Temple is situated on the banks of the holiest river in India - the Ganges. It is situated a few kilometers away from the City of Joy - Kolkata. It is one of the most famous temples of Ma Kali. The Kali temple is surrounded by 12 temples of Lord Shiva.

Mythology has it that Ma Kali is an avtaar of Parvati, the wife of Lord Shiva. And so is Ma Durga. Both depict the strength and power of good over evil. Both are destroyers of evil and are therefore worshipped by Hindus. The Dakhineshwar Temple also enshrines the belongings of the greatest devotee of Ma Kali - Ramkrishna and his wife Ma Sharada. Swami Vivekanand, a follower of Ramkrishna also found his life's mission here. He later went on to become a freedom fighter who fought to make India free from British rule.

As is common in most of the temples around India, the temple complex at Dakhineshwar is surrounded by rows and rows of shops selling mementoes of all shapes, sizes and prices.

Visitors to the temple visit these shops to carry home some memories of their visit here. Among the shops are also food stalls and restaurants that serve food for the hungry devotees. On one side of the complex is the Dalla Arcade which sells only offerings that can be made to Ma Kali. This part of the temple complex is fully commercialized and generates revenue for the temple and provides employment to hundreds.

Another aspect that is all to familiar are the scores of beggars that can be found in and around the temple complex.

These beggars do not know any other means of livelihood than the one they follow and living in the temple is the only way of life they know. This picture depicts the other side of developing India - abject poverty, people living in unhygenic conditions, malnoursihed children..... and a few more..... I sometimes wonder what motivates them to continue with this kind of life - paying for their sins or just the need to be beside a holy figure or is it something else altogether.... who knows!

Lessons nature teaches....

The rays of the setting sun painted this picture in the evening skyline behind some trees. And it will be back again after some rest to show us the way again. To me it symbolises the eternal cycle of rejuvination... the cycle of light and darkenss... the cycle of hope and despair.

Although the sunset leaves darkness in its wake, it is glorified by beautiful and breath-taking scenes of nature. Nature sometimes is at its best just before the sun sinks in the horizon and envelops the surrondings in darkness. Similarly, we experience some of the very beautiful moments of light in our lives just before moments of darkeness.

So there is a lot that we can learn from the natural phenomenon that surround us and mould it according to the frame of our mind.... and gain peace, solace, comfort.....

And after every night, the sun rises again.... day breaks fiiling our lives with new hope, a new beginning....... just like the rose bud reaching out towards the light and hoping to bloom and spread its beauty in the surroundings. Hope - the one thing that keeps us going and motivates us - always

Fun all the way

This is a glimpse of the festive spirit that prevails over urban India during Christmas time. The urban Indians celebrate all kinds of festivals - may it be a Hindu festival, a Muslim festival or a Sikh festival or a Christian festival. They celebrate it with the same amount of enthusiasm and fervor as they would celebrate their own festivals. It is an indication of the amount of fun that the urban Indians have a capacity for. Christmas followed by New Year is the last leg of the festivities that start from late September/ early October. It starts with the Navratri(Durga Puja for some Indians) followed by Laxmi Puja, Diwali (Kali / Laxmi Puja), Bhai Duj. There are a couple of national holidays also like Gandhi Jayanti and Children's Day too during this time of the year. Not to metion the fact that this happens to be the most auspicious period in the Hindu calender and is considered to be very good time of the year for marriages to take place.

Looks like the urban Indians have three months of festivities. All types of businesses do maximum amount of sales during this period of the year and they take advantage of the loose purse strings of the public by announcing attractive schemes. The weather also becomes very pleasant to match our mood.

Lots of color, light, fun and relaxation mark the last quarter of the year for us. The crowds just keep pouring in in places like these to have their piece of fun before the year rus out on them. The Christmas Tree symbolises their mood and the fact that we are a highly secular country. And also the fact that every reason is a good reason to have some fun.

Survival of the Fittest

These street vendors are a common sight in Connaught Place. They spread their wares on the pavement itself since they lack proper shops to display their wares. Coming from the lower strata of the society they make an attempt to earn a decent living by selling attractive pieces of things that can be used to decorate your home. As is typical of the people coming from that specific economic strata in India most of them are uneducated. They just know merely how to sign their names on documents. But at the height of business hours when foreigners flock the inner circle of CP they are at their persuasive best that too in a language that is alien to them...English. It is very educational to see them use the english language to persuade them to buy their wares with the minimum amount of haggling. They can teach the white collar salesperson a thing or two about how to make sales. Perseverance, persuasion, judgement, killer instinct, patience, knowing the market, adapting to market place, knowing their buyers (to the extent of adopting the language popular with Delhi-ites and foreigners.. english)... all qualities of a good salesman is displayed by them. What makes it standout is the fact that they are uneducated. They have made themselves literate in their own trade..... that is what I call 'The Survival of the Fittest'