Meeting those hailing from West Bengal during Durga Puja celebrations
Durga Puja celebrations essentially involved visiting different Puja Pandals in the national capital of Delhi. Two Durga Pandals that were not to be missed were Kali Bari in Mandir Marg and Matri Mandir Kali Bari in Safdarjung Enclave. It was on the seventh day of the puja i visited Mandir Marg with those in attendance neatly dressed and saying a prayer or two to Goddess Durga. The Idol of the Goddess looking as resplendent as ever with a blue shade in the background.
Meeting those hailing from Eastern States
During my stay in Mandir Marg Kali Bari Puja Pandal I came across a large number of people hailing from the States of West Bengal and Assam. There was Mr K K Chatterjee hailing from West Bengal and he revealed he had been staying in Gurgaon for the past 32 years. There was Mr Deb working in Programme Implementation and Statistics Department coming under Ministry of Statistics. His office happened to be somewhere in South Delhi and his place of stay in R K Ashram Marg and he belonged to Silchar in Assam. There was Mr Sunil Roy doing business in Delhi and hailing from Sealdah in Kolkata, Mr Pramod from Kolkata and another gentleman staying in Dwarka hailing from Kolkata. After participating in pushpanjali (offering flowers to the Goddess) all were waiting for bhog (prasad) to be served. On the first day of the visit the bhog comprised of Khichhdi (made from rice and lentil and known as Kicdi), sabzi (vegetable) and Kheer (Dessert made from rice and sugar boiled in milk with additions of cardamom and groundnuts).
Visiting Matri Mandir Safdarjung Enclave
On the 8th day of the puja i visited Matri Mandir Kali Bari Safdarjung Enclave with the pandal premises bursting at the seams. The Idol of the Goddess seem to be quite impressive and engaging devotees most of the time. As we stood in line to get bhog the queue that was in sight and the duration we had to wait for both looked to be considerably longer. There was inordinate delay in serving of the bhog comprising pulao(pilaf), paneer sabji (cottage cheese vegetable)and aloo chop (Potato croquettes) as those in the queue and those wishing to join the queue seem to be one and the same. There were four different queues leading to the two bhog stall.
Here i came across a gentleman hailing from Kolkata quite upbeat about having houses in Delhi and Kolkata. There was Mr Uttam Kumar Roy Chowdhry who was visiting his daughter in Delhi and hailing from Bardhaman, Mr B Goswami from Midnapore, one student pursuing Bachelor in Finance from Jamia in Delhi and hailing from Ballygunge in Kolkata. On the 9th day of Puja i visited Mandir Marg Pandal again with the Idol of the Goddesss looking as radiant as ever. As we stood in the queue for bhog i came across Mr Nandi working in armed forces whose son was studying in Army Public School, there was one Pallav studying in class 10th in Air Force School, Delhi, there was Mr Debashish Banerjee staying in Faridabad and essentially hailing from Dhaka (Bangladesh). Mr Banerjee had been to Chittaranjan Park Puja Pandal in New Delhi as well and was visiting the Mandir Marg Pandal to see the performance put by dhakis (traditional drummers who play the drum). Here i met Rupa Bhattacharya who introduced herself as a writer at the moment giving coaching to school students. Looking for a 9 to 5 job, she wanted to know the avenues from where such assignments could be secured. Perhaps a newspaper or a magazine opening could be suitable. She too relished the bhog that was offered.
Bhog was elaborate
As for the queue the order and template became a thing of the past as people jumped the queue to reach the ground where bhog would be served. I came across two girl students studying in a Delhi school in class seventh and eleventh. This time the bhog comprised of pulao (pilaf), paneer sabji (cottage cheese vegetable) and not to be missed Kheer (Dessert made from rice and sugar boiled in milk with additions of cardamom and groundnuts). As the bhog was about to get over, they started serving kala jamuns (sweets made from Khoya, Paneer, Flour and Milk) which i preferred not to take given its high sweet content. As the puja celebrations were coming to a close the visit to two pandals and interaction with people hailing from West Bengal was something to cherish. A special mention about the performance put by dhakis who normally converge in the national capital during this time of the year. The news channel beamed from Kolkata, namely ABP Anando, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta Bengali News and DD Bangla gave a comprehensive coverage of puja celebrations in and around Kolkata. Kolkata TV among others showed the immaculate performance by Dhakis.
Meeting those hailing from Junagadh, Gujarat, meeting those coming from Andhra and Karnataka
During Puja days i had to take different metro rides. While i came across two men doing business in shoes hailing from Junagadh in Gujarat, the different locales that i have visited in Gujarat like Somnath, Nageshwar, Dwarkadish, Rajkot, Ahmedabad among others could not impress them to the point of carrying the conversation to a longer duration. The very fact that i had visited Gir Sasan home to Asiatic lions also could not yield a long response. Both men agreed there was a Gujarati Samaj in Old Delhi which catered to the needs of those who travelled from Gujarat and made their stay in New Delhi ranging from shorter to longer duration depending on the work that had to be accomplished and tourist spots that had to be visited. Both men despite hailing from Gujarat had little to say about ETV Gujarati news channel which beamed live coverage of Janmashtami celebrations from Dwarkadish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat. Both men were comfortable in conversing in Gujarati language and unmindful of the rush that the Delhi metro coach was witnessing every passing minute. Here in the metro i met a group of devotees headed towards Sisganj Gurdwara coming from Sangrur in Punjab. As for three students hailing from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka the interaction took place over a cup of tea in Pandey Ji Shop K-2 DDA Shop near PNB Bank in Bhikaji Cama Place who were in Delhi to take coaching for civil services. They went by the names Kalyan, Ravi (both from Andhra Pradesh) and Gowda (from Karnataka). They were staying in PG accommodation in Satya Niketan and taking coaching from Classic Academy. The city they would have least experienced and high cost of living they would have least cherished in the past three months was a narrative that one could associate with those who hailed from area other than Delhi.
As per reports appearing in a section of press the metro fares are set to rise again in the national capital. Well for this year the fare had already been revised in May and the Delhi Metro does good business from token sale and advertisement billboards and most commuters would say there is no need to revise the fare.
Durga Puja celebrations essentially involved visiting different Puja Pandals in the national capital of Delhi. Two Durga Pandals that were not to be missed were Kali Bari in Mandir Marg and Matri Mandir Kali Bari in Safdarjung Enclave. It was on the seventh day of the puja i visited Mandir Marg with those in attendance neatly dressed and saying a prayer or two to Goddess Durga. The Idol of the Goddess looking as resplendent as ever with a blue shade in the background.
Meeting those hailing from Eastern States
During my stay in Mandir Marg Kali Bari Puja Pandal I came across a large number of people hailing from the States of West Bengal and Assam. There was Mr K K Chatterjee hailing from West Bengal and he revealed he had been staying in Gurgaon for the past 32 years. There was Mr Deb working in Programme Implementation and Statistics Department coming under Ministry of Statistics. His office happened to be somewhere in South Delhi and his place of stay in R K Ashram Marg and he belonged to Silchar in Assam. There was Mr Sunil Roy doing business in Delhi and hailing from Sealdah in Kolkata, Mr Pramod from Kolkata and another gentleman staying in Dwarka hailing from Kolkata. After participating in pushpanjali (offering flowers to the Goddess) all were waiting for bhog (prasad) to be served. On the first day of the visit the bhog comprised of Khichhdi (made from rice and lentil and known as Kicdi), sabzi (vegetable) and Kheer (Dessert made from rice and sugar boiled in milk with additions of cardamom and groundnuts).
Visiting Matri Mandir Safdarjung Enclave
On the 8th day of the puja i visited Matri Mandir Kali Bari Safdarjung Enclave with the pandal premises bursting at the seams. The Idol of the Goddess seem to be quite impressive and engaging devotees most of the time. As we stood in line to get bhog the queue that was in sight and the duration we had to wait for both looked to be considerably longer. There was inordinate delay in serving of the bhog comprising pulao(pilaf), paneer sabji (cottage cheese vegetable)and aloo chop (Potato croquettes) as those in the queue and those wishing to join the queue seem to be one and the same. There were four different queues leading to the two bhog stall.
Here i came across a gentleman hailing from Kolkata quite upbeat about having houses in Delhi and Kolkata. There was Mr Uttam Kumar Roy Chowdhry who was visiting his daughter in Delhi and hailing from Bardhaman, Mr B Goswami from Midnapore, one student pursuing Bachelor in Finance from Jamia in Delhi and hailing from Ballygunge in Kolkata. On the 9th day of Puja i visited Mandir Marg Pandal again with the Idol of the Goddesss looking as radiant as ever. As we stood in the queue for bhog i came across Mr Nandi working in armed forces whose son was studying in Army Public School, there was one Pallav studying in class 10th in Air Force School, Delhi, there was Mr Debashish Banerjee staying in Faridabad and essentially hailing from Dhaka (Bangladesh). Mr Banerjee had been to Chittaranjan Park Puja Pandal in New Delhi as well and was visiting the Mandir Marg Pandal to see the performance put by dhakis (traditional drummers who play the drum). Here i met Rupa Bhattacharya who introduced herself as a writer at the moment giving coaching to school students. Looking for a 9 to 5 job, she wanted to know the avenues from where such assignments could be secured. Perhaps a newspaper or a magazine opening could be suitable. She too relished the bhog that was offered.
Bhog was elaborate
As for the queue the order and template became a thing of the past as people jumped the queue to reach the ground where bhog would be served. I came across two girl students studying in a Delhi school in class seventh and eleventh. This time the bhog comprised of pulao (pilaf), paneer sabji (cottage cheese vegetable) and not to be missed Kheer (Dessert made from rice and sugar boiled in milk with additions of cardamom and groundnuts). As the bhog was about to get over, they started serving kala jamuns (sweets made from Khoya, Paneer, Flour and Milk) which i preferred not to take given its high sweet content. As the puja celebrations were coming to a close the visit to two pandals and interaction with people hailing from West Bengal was something to cherish. A special mention about the performance put by dhakis who normally converge in the national capital during this time of the year. The news channel beamed from Kolkata, namely ABP Anando, Kolkata TV, 24 Ghanta Bengali News and DD Bangla gave a comprehensive coverage of puja celebrations in and around Kolkata. Kolkata TV among others showed the immaculate performance by Dhakis.
Meeting those hailing from Junagadh, Gujarat, meeting those coming from Andhra and Karnataka
During Puja days i had to take different metro rides. While i came across two men doing business in shoes hailing from Junagadh in Gujarat, the different locales that i have visited in Gujarat like Somnath, Nageshwar, Dwarkadish, Rajkot, Ahmedabad among others could not impress them to the point of carrying the conversation to a longer duration. The very fact that i had visited Gir Sasan home to Asiatic lions also could not yield a long response. Both men agreed there was a Gujarati Samaj in Old Delhi which catered to the needs of those who travelled from Gujarat and made their stay in New Delhi ranging from shorter to longer duration depending on the work that had to be accomplished and tourist spots that had to be visited. Both men despite hailing from Gujarat had little to say about ETV Gujarati news channel which beamed live coverage of Janmashtami celebrations from Dwarkadish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat. Both men were comfortable in conversing in Gujarati language and unmindful of the rush that the Delhi metro coach was witnessing every passing minute. Here in the metro i met a group of devotees headed towards Sisganj Gurdwara coming from Sangrur in Punjab. As for three students hailing from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka the interaction took place over a cup of tea in Pandey Ji Shop K-2 DDA Shop near PNB Bank in Bhikaji Cama Place who were in Delhi to take coaching for civil services. They went by the names Kalyan, Ravi (both from Andhra Pradesh) and Gowda (from Karnataka). They were staying in PG accommodation in Satya Niketan and taking coaching from Classic Academy. The city they would have least experienced and high cost of living they would have least cherished in the past three months was a narrative that one could associate with those who hailed from area other than Delhi.
As per reports appearing in a section of press the metro fares are set to rise again in the national capital. Well for this year the fare had already been revised in May and the Delhi Metro does good business from token sale and advertisement billboards and most commuters would say there is no need to revise the fare.
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