Durga Puja Chronicles: Celebrations Galore

It's that time of the year again when I feel my roots and know for sure that I'm a Bong.....well, how else can I describe my love for this big big celebration of all that is so Bangaali? :-)

Since birth, I've celebrated Durga Puja with a lot of fun and looking-forward to. In Delhi, where I've been born and brought up and lived for the first 25 years of my life, Durga Puja was especially special, as it was THAT time of the year when we would proudly show off that we were bongs. The whole year would be spent in jeans and shirts and skirts, but come July/August, and we would start preparing for what to wear in the Puja days and when to begin shopping.

Anupam Roy Talks About Durga Puja And His Thoughts

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(*the following appeared as a Bengali article in the paper EBela as part of Anupam Roy's column - Anupam Katha)

(for those readers who do not understand Bengali, yet love Anupam Roy's words, here's an attempted translation with as much as I could understand of the original Bengali version. Any mistakes are apologised for in advance)

The rain-soaked sombre skies shaded with blue smiles. The flowers giving off the holiday scent. The crowds on the streets, the excitement on the loudspeakers and the rolls-pakodas-phuchkas....all beginning the countdown to Durga Puja, in Anupam Roy's words...

Is it time already?

Where did so many people come from? What's happened to Gariahat? Is it already here? What month's this? But I barely saw any