And just like that, it’s all over! Durga puja starting in September, and then Kali puja, Diwali, Bhai Phonta in October; why, even Jagaddhatri puja will be done and dusted by the end of next week. All major autumn festivals are over this year before even a nip in the air. Does that mean there’s nothing to look forward to in November?
Hello Halloween
The Pujas haven’t wrapped up this early in nearly 10 years (in 2017, Dashami was on September 30 and Kali puja on October 19) and residents do not want to break the festive momentum. “The Puja days were unbearably hot this year, and just when the weather is becoming pleasant, the festivals have ended. There won’t be anything major again till Christmas,” says Ananya De Das, who was the ritual convenor of CK-CL Block’s Durga puja this year.
But if Eastern festivals have concluded, one can still look West. “Two years ago, we had held Halloween in our block, with great success. Some of us have been discussing reviving it this year, and though Halloween is on October 31, we can always space it out and celebrate it a couple of weeks later,” suggested Ananya.
Devotion diary
Salt Lake Sanskrit Sansad holds an event at least once in two months, but they have had to make special arrangements to bypass the lull in the November air.
“Dussehra, dandia, Diwali, Gopashtami (worship of cows)…we’ll be done with everything so early this year that November would have been dull and uneventful. So we brought forward a week-long activity that we usually hold in January,” says Amit Poddar, secretary of the CA Block-based group.
So a monk would be coming from Vrindavan between November 13 and 19 for a discourse on lord Krishna’s life. “We cannot change the dates of Diwali, but this in-house event was in our hands. It will be a spiritual event and allow members to mingle every day for a week,” said Poddar.
AC Block is planning a food festival. “Everyone wants to hold on to the festive season,” says association member Tapesh Majumder. “Three years ago, while returning from Kali puja immersion, we were feeling sad that there was nothing more to look forward to that season, and so there and then, sitting on the back of that bumpy lorry, we decided to start Jagaddhatri puja, a practice we still continue.”
Similarly, seeing the long dry spell next month, the block is contemplating a food festival. “Talks are on to finalise the date, but if we can hold it in November it would certainly spice up the dull period,” Majumder says.
Another sector that’s been hit by the early concussion of the festive season is travel and tourism. “Places like Purulia were too hot to visit in September, and when it gets pleasant next month, school vacations will be over,” shrugs Debasish Chakraborty, of Wheels and Wings travel agency in GD Block.
His block, GD Block, recognises that some people will be traveling at this time and has planned their post-Puja-and-Diwali gathering well into November. “One reason is that several people visit their hometowns around Diwali and we want them to return. We also want to encash on the dry spell in November and are sure of huge footfall,” says block executive committee member Manick Deb.
They are planning to host a big-ticket music concert, along with dinner. “While the show will be open to all, we shall formally invite committee members of 10 other nearby blocks to join us,” Deb says.
Where there’s a will
Some do not mind the break between the Pujas and Christmas. “We are so exhausted after the festive season that maybe we shall hibernate in November,” laughs secretary of EC Block, Mouli Nath Maji. “We can energise before our annual picnic in January. And at least the wedding season’s starting in November, so hopefully we’ll get invited to a few.”
A BE Block resident is aching to stretch the festive season. “It’s criminal to have such great weather and no occasion to enjoy with family and friends. If I don’t land any wedding invitation soon, I might just drop a Buro Kartik at a friend’s house and trick him into hosting Kartik puja,” he winks.
saltlake@abp.in
