Dashami

The heart grows heavy.

Today the Goddess will be immersed in the Ganges. All festivities come to an end.

We made the final bhog, spied the Goddess's feet in the mirror over water. Moms indulged in some diffident sindhur khela.


Sigh!
Asche bochhor abar hobe (It'll happen again next year!!)

Nabami

Pandal hopping for 6 hours. Till we almost plonked on the road exhausted. But such sights!

Let me list the top 10 in my order of not so much to most favourite. Labelling may be a bit awry, since we saw 60 pandals in just South Kolkata and after a while they were all getting mixed up.

Also, note that these are all recently built structures - with thermocol or cardboard - its hard to believe looking at them.

10. Maddox Square

Famous for the good looking junta which frequents it, I was a bit disappointed with the crowd and pandal. But it had a lot of live events and fun rides on.

9. Ekdalia

8. Mudiali Club

7. Sukantu Setu
I have two here. We started our day with these and loved them.




Note the last one with strung candies.

6. Jodhpur Park
An old colonial villa made of thermocol and cardboard.

5. Palli Mangal Samiti

Replica of Kalighat. Again made of thermocol.

4. Hindustan Park
Theme: Pencha (Owl) is Durga. I quite liked it, although most had a problem with the idol.

3. Bosepukur
Lovely glass dome, lovelier pagan Goddess.
2. Babubagan
This old house is completely made of thermocol. The idol so lifelike - in imitation of Kumari Puja.

1. Badamtala
The absolute best of the lot we hopped. Only complaint - the interior should have been well lit for snaps.


Phew! My arms and legs are so ready to drop off. But totally worth it.

Ashtami

Parar Pujo
Anjali in the morning, kichdi bhog for communal lunch and sandhi puja at midnight. What fun!

Saptami

At South City mall. No less crowded, no less well decorated.

The roads, as crowded as ever.

And.... to light up in few hours.

Shashti

And it rained and rained.
Mom did her bit by worrying about roads flooding (Her logic being the more she worries about it, more it won't happen).
Evening Puja at North Kolkata - Sribhumi.

That's the pandal

The Puja begins

At home for Durga Puja after close to six year. No city, despite best attempts by Bengali immigrants, can replicate what Kolkata is in these ten days. The sweat sticking on the fair backs of Kakimas on their relentless walks by saree shops, half dug roads with bamboo fences (drawing many curses from dad), music of the dhakis, incense, yells, sweet smell of shiuli.

We started by celebrating Satyanarayan Puja at home. Time for some early morning chores, sweets and our favourite Shinni. As every year, we spent sometime wondering why we do not make Shinni an everyday affair.

Now for the mandatory afternoon siesta. Pictures still, more to come.

Lessons from the ancient world

Cleopatra

Not until today had I any other opinion of her - she was beautiful, powerful, bathed in milk and honey, laden with jewels, had the most illustrious lovers. Not until I finished the book. A life with no peace. Antony and Cleopatra. by Colleen McCullough

A story simple enough. Julius Caesar is dead leaving his legacy to nephew Octavian, to be called the new caesar, pretty, effeminate, young, who everyone has written off. The Roman world is divided into three regions governed by the three Triumvirs - Marcus Antonius, Lepidus, Caesar Octavianus. In comes Egypt's queen Cleopatra obsessed with attaining world power for her son by Julius Caesar - Ceasarion. In order to do this she seduces Mark Antony. And thus begins never ending web of treason, devious planning, inter marriage and an all consuming civil war.

Marcus Antonius

An ancient world so full of romance - each name, what they wear, what they eat, their way of life. For example, Cleopatra and Caesarion are hailed as "two Pharaohs, Lords of the Two Ladies Upper and Lower Egypt, Lords of the Sedge and Bee, Children of Amun-Ra, Isis and Ptah!".

Rome's way of life - So intricate, modern even. Men in their Tyrian purple lined togas, democratic assemblies with elected consuls. Such excitement to battle. Lose lives. Preserve their dignitas. All for Rome.

But the position of women - no better. They could marry many times, but were at mercy of men on collapse of the marriages. Girls were betrothed by fathers, could not vote, were expected to not interfere with their husband's lives while the men could take mistresses and go about on their wars. Alexandria despite and maybe because of Cleopatra was far crueler. Not only to women but lower borns. Killed and done away with on any royal whim. Ptolemaic.

Saddest though was the death of Caesarion in the hands of Octavian; he who had no part to play in a war engineered by his mother and foster father Mark Antony. Precocious, honest and his father's truest son, he died for being just those.

Caesarion

And the theme of book - The love between Antony and Cleopatra - I would never understand what made him love her so much, as the book describes her to be small, scrawny, not at all pretty. But he saw her as his equal, his true companion.

Such romantic names - Marcus Agrippa, Livia Drusilla, Sextus Pompeius, Ahenobarbus, Mecaenas, Proculeius, Thyreus, Gallus, Menas, Charmian, Iras.

And finally Augustus Caesar. Who conquered them all. Just, mostly kind, in love with Rome, battling with acumen more than military prowess. The new first man in Rome.

So much cruelty, so much love! All for some land.

Ps - I wish I could imprint the whole marvellous book in my head, but such short memory I have. This entry should help refresh and of course good old wikipedia.

Little pleasures

A chai fund started at work

Monsoon showers