October 14, 2010

Sashthi and 'for the first time'

It was ‘Sashthi’ yesterday. It marks the beginning of Durga Puja. Though the festive mood sets in the city and the crowds gather from quite some time ago; with the ‘Bodhon’ of sashthi the goddess comes to her paternal home. Amidst Sanskrit chanting, flowers and incense, the goddess is welcomed. And as the rhythm of the ‘dhak’ gets louder and more captive, our happiness grows. Dressed in best we set out. It is the beginning of five days, and of course nights, of fun and festivity. The brightly decorated and immensely crowded city begins to celebrate!

I was thinking about the first day of puja yesterday, missing it a bit, and yet feeling so happy. After all it is puja!! And then I realize how this first day of puja was also the day when I ‘for the first time’ ventured out alone or cooked a main course or did something..

It is a different situation in India, especially when one lives in a crowded city like Calcutta. Children there do not go out alone on the roads without responsible supervision. The crowds, and traffic and all other possible dangers make the parents hold the hand of the child as the child steps out to the world. It is hard to imagine a situation like this in a different society or even in a calmer town of India. But in Calcutta, this is what it is. Children do not go out alone. Similarly, when I was little, I was also not allowed to go out alone except in the community playgrounds in the afternoons. Of course this did not count the time when I dared to escape out along with my brother (I was the ‘responsible’ elder sister), took a rickshaw, and went to the gas station.

I was around 9 then. It was sashthi. And already in the morning I was dressed up in my new dress. Ma was getting bhai (brother) ready. Someone was going to take us out to see the nearby pandals. It was the first day of puja and we could barely wait. And then came the surprise… Ma said, bhai and me could go alone to the nearest pandal, and only to that. Yahoooo!! I could barely believe what I heard and was impatient to step out before she changed her mind. I hurried out of the house grabbing my brother’s hand. Ma from behind was telling me to always hold bhai’s hand, cross the road carefully, and to NOT go anywhere else. Who cared?! I was out alone for the first time (well, with permission this time). I was given the responsibility of my brother on the roads. I was so excited. I felt so proud and grown up. I am sure I was inches ‘taller’. Holding bhai’s hand, I looked back to wave to ma and then turned the corner.

No sooner was ma out of sight that I revealed my plan to bhai. When we were allowed to get out alone, then why to go only to the nearest pandal and wait for the rest till the evening? I knew the way around and decided to go to all close by pandals. ‘Instead of just going to the nearest pandal, we would make the usual circle of the area and see all the pandals’, I told my brother. He was a bit skeptical about if I really knew the way. And with my assurance, he readily agreed. And I am sure he was also thrilled within. So we proudly went around visiting all the five pandals of the area. Excitedly we talked about how beautiful all looked. Thrilled about how we would proudly declare our little adventure at home. And then thinking, maybe, we should just say we were for long only at the pandal where we were actually allowed to go.

We were almost at the end of our adventure and was about to turn to the main road that leads to our community when I heard some beating of dhak further ahead. I remembered, long back dad had taken us once to some pandal there. Somehow I remembered we just need to go straight to reach it. And I told bhai, ‘let’s go to it too’! He was now tired and quite skeptical as he sensed I was not sure about the location. But, nevertheless, agreed. And anyway, I was the ‘boss’. So we set ahead. And walked and walked and walked. Now as I remember, maybe we had barely walked maybe 5-6 minutes. But we were little then. And unknown roads, especially when I was not sure about the destination, seemed longer to us. Bhai was already getting nervous. But I proposed to walk on a bit further before turning back. And then he replied, ‘Okay, we walk. But if we get lost, and the police are able to find us, then I am going to put the blame on you’!!! I smiled and agreed. Of course, we would not be lost! But alas, we could not find the place though we were able to hear the dhak all along. And we decided to head back home.

Back at home, I triumphantly declared to ma, ‘Guess where we went? We saw all the pandals’!!! She acted surprised; and then smiled and said that she guessed it when we were out for so long. Soon we got busy describing our adventure and the beautiful pandals and idols. And from then on, it was a ritual every year to go out in the sashthi morning and visit all the nearby puja pandals..

It was the first time I went alone. And not just alone, I was given the responsibility of someone. I felt responsible and grown up. It was special. And till today I remember it..

The second ‘for the first time’ happened when I was in the high school. Cooking was always my interest and especially making something new. However, I was always only making snacks or something small. Maybe baked a cake or cookies, made something fried. I never ventured to cook the main course. But, that year for puja I decided to cook the main course all the five days. And parents readily agreed. Eagerly I decided a menu and asked my dad to bring the ingredients. The first day, sashthi, had some kind of dry chicken preparation on the menu. Parents had to go to work, the holidays beginning from the next day. I was supposed to cook it for dinner. We had planned an early dinner and then would go out pandal hopping in the city for the whole night. Ma had warned me to be careful about the fire and told to call her if I needed anything.

Late in the afternoon, I started with my cooking. Onions were chopped, ginger and garlic was made into a paste. I took out all the spices and measured the required amounts. I took out the salt jar so that I would remember to add it in the end. The chicken was already cleaned. With my ingredients neatly ready, I had put the wok on fire. The oil got heated and I put in the spices. Soon, the air filled with the nice aroma and the crackling sound of the spices. Following the recipe diligently, I was busy adding ingredients and going through each step. It felt all so easy. And the initial overwhelming thought of cooking the main course was gone. By then, everything was done. I had to just wait for the chicken to get cooked and add the seasoning. And there, my dish would be ready!! I smiled and was proud a bit.

And then came the realization. I had no clue to know when the chicken is cooked. How would I know when it is done? I had no choice but to make this rescue call to ma. ‘Ma, I have put in everything, and all is good. But how do I know when the chicken is cooked??’ I muttered over the phone in confusion. She explained with a smile solving all my problems. Finally, then when it was almost cooked, I tried my ‘master chef’ tricks, and added quite an amount of black pepper.

At the dinner table that evening, it was a success. The chicken which was a bit too hot had this unique rustic taste. Everyone licked their fingers, and it was a hit. My first main course! It was perfect. And, so was all the other food I cooked during that holiday. From then on, often, I had the responsibility of preparing the meat dishes when some guests were coming.

The first day of Durga puja, along with it, brought these ‘for the first time’-s in my life. And that is what made it special. These were little milestones on life’s way that made me feel grown up, responsible and proud. And these ‘first times’ made the puja all the more happy and gave more reasons to celebrate.

So what I did ‘for the first time’ yesterday? I made rashogollas! The yummy spongy cheese balls in sugar syrup. The delicate and all famous Bengali dessert.

1 comment:

  1. i still will say that if we get lost i will put the blame on you if police find us... anyway that was such a great experience... now i remember that sound of dhak was coming from the pandal that is on the way towards the airport....
    now you are in slovenia me in pune two places where there is no dhak no long waiting for getting into he pandal... but those memories are always there in my mind.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

ShareThis