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The nip in the air, the fragrance of shiuli phool, the bare trees, the fallen leaves all conspire to welcome the Goddess of Shakti Maa Durga and proclaim the beginning of the festive season in the Hindu calendar.
Since childhood, I was awakened on the day of Mahalaya by the chanting of the sacred mantras….
” Ya devi sarvabhuteshu….” interspersed by the beautifully composed and rendered songs to welcome Maa home for her annual visit; emanating from the old Murphy radio which was religiously tuned into the Kolkata radio station the night before by my mother so that no time was wasted when the Mahalaya started at the crack of dawn. My favourites included “Baajlo tomar aalor benu..”, ” Jaago tumi jaago…”, ” Ogo aamar agomonir aalo” and the peaceful rendition of ” Shanti dile bhori…” towards the end gave me goosebumps. They still do…
The radios gave way to cassettes which we could play and listen to all day long and then to compact discs. Nowadays the hubby knowing my love for the original at 4 am in the morning religiously sets the alarm and plays it on the cell phone. My kids turn in their sleep. One of them opens an eye…smiles at me and pretends to go back to sleep. The younger one twists and turns.The process of passing on the traditions from one generation to the next should be natural and not forced. Each year I tell them the same story of the arrival of Maa and the festivities that would follow….and they listen …asking questions in between. I feel proud and satisfied and sure that the love for the culture will remain intact. Even though my childhood was spent outside Bengal my mother made sure that I would carry the culture with pride and although my children have led the lives of vagabonds owing to the nature of their father’s service..they may not go too far from their roots culturally. They might proudly inherit and wear my sarees too.
The saree is a navy blue chiffon with embroidery in the same colour and embellished with sequins and beads. This is also one of the sarees I owned before marriage and the first saree I bought with my own money. As soon as I passed my twelfth my mother told me I must do something for my pocket money and college expenses. She urged me to take tuitions in my free time. And within a few days I was teaching twenty kids in the neighbourhood. This saree was one of the first lavish investments I made during that period. Got it done from a boutique owned by my friend’s bhabhi. I never asked my parents for money till the time I finished college.
The excitement and fervour are here to stay. Wishing each one of you a Shubho Mahalaya and Durgotsav.