A bou from Delhi

This post is about my first-hand experience of Durga-Puja after the wedding.The pictures included in the post were clicked while visits to Pandaals.P helped me a lot with the bangla words and language.I am including a recipe of very simple Bengali dessert called Patishapta which are thin rice flour crepes filled with sweetened coconut.Read on…

Coming out of the airport, I noticed a smile on faces of my in-laws.They were happy that I made it to the first Durgostav after the wedding. A night before the flight was spent in packing the traditional sarees,the heaviest of the heavy jewelery,the silk salwaar suits and among others the two most important items of Bengali cosmetics…alta & the sindor.

I was really apprehensive, and excited, both at the same time. New festive traditions, new veneration practices and an unknown language.. I did not carry the inherent joy and glee that fills a Bengali mind with the advent of Durga Puja.Rather, a restlessness raged inside me but I had to cover it up with a big smile on my lips…after all I was the new ‘bou’ [daughter in-law]of the house.

Taanta (as P fondly calls my grand MIL) hugged me with wet eyes as I entered the house after 7 months of wedding and whispered in my ears “Pujo aashchhe!Kalke Mahalaya acche”.I understood only one word “Pujo” but a feeling of warmth transcended within me against her bosom. It was an emotional moment indeed.

The next day she woke me up at 4 am to listen to the Mahalaya transmission on All India Radio [AIR]. Listening to the words and music, I felt an innate desire to strive to seek my own goddess in the alluring florid of the early morning sun, in the sweet whispers of the tree tossed wind,in the chirps of the sparrows,in the fragile touch of her hand while she gave me a cup of morning tea, and in places I never imagined divine grace could exist. That very pre dawn,my father in law also offered prayers to the ancestors at the river banks of Sangam for Tarpan.

It was shoshti morning. Out of whatever I knew of Bengali way of celebrating Durga Pujo,I asked my MIL what time will they bring Maa Durga idol to the house today..a question having its roots from the homecoming of Ganapati during my Pune days. She replied that they no longer bring Maa home because it requires a lot of rules to be followed, but in the evening they will go to the nearby Pujo Baari [Pandaal] for the inauguration ceremony where Maa Durga’s face will be unveiled for the first time and shoshti pujo will be performed! The Pujo Baari resembled a temporary temple with ornate walls of bamboo and the wooden carvings. There stood a mesmerizing and wonderful Protima [idol] of Maa Durga in all her glory and divinity. She was beautiful. I could not take off my eyes from her sharp features for few minutes. A shudder of strength ran all over my body looking at her. The Pandaal was a pot pourri of people from all corners of the colony, from all streams of life, big and small, all religions & backgrounds,who seemed to have forgotten their dissimilarities and were willing to become one for the next few days & shared a common enterprise to make the Pujo a big success.

To the extreme relief of a north Indian girl who had spent last 25 years of her life refraining from non vegetarian food during Navratras, my MIL told me that vegetarian meals are eaten on shoshti.The meal consisted of lucchis (puris made of AP flour), cholar dal (gram lentils cooked with coconut), channar dalna (paneer curry), bhaja (fried vegetables), aloo posto, and paayesh.

The next day was MahaSaptomi,the onset of the 4 day long festivites.Night before Taanta first told me “Kaal shokale anjoli dewaar pore kheyo“, smiled and repeated the words in Hindi.She told me not to eat anything next day before I had given anjoli in Pujo Baari. For someone like me who is half dead the whole day if she cudnt have tea within 20 minutes of waking up, that was an emergency. Decked up in heavy kantha saree with the most glittering set from the wedding,the gold engraved shanka-pola ,I gave anjoli of beautiful flowers to Maa trying to recite the bangla shlokas after the priest in vain but I felt like a devotee somehow.That was followed by offering the shringar items..sarees, sindur, teep [bindi], alta , bangles etc. It’s so surprising sometimes how the string of devotion binds us in front of God regardless of the words, cultural differences and veneration practices and the unifying force is only the celebration of deity and her facets.

The lunch of lucchi, labra and boondi at Pujo Baari winded up the afternoon. My in-laws family has the tradition of eating non vegetarian food on the MahaSaptomi day. It is regarded as auspicious. It was a moment of raised eyebrows and frowned forehead expressions with the ‘bou’ not eating Macher kalia or Mangsho’r jhol [mutton or chicken curry]. Maybe they felt hurt,however, no one made an issue out of it, thanks to the fact that they got busy in relishing the ultimate comfort for Bengalis.. the food. I felt slightly unattached and out of place but sustained thinking my goddess does not care if  I eat vegetarian or non vegetarian …what she only cares about is whether I am truthful in my heart while worshipping her as only then can I concede that the eternal spirit of Maa resides not within the confines of a community or culture or religion, but instead, it unfolds inside the heart of each and every devotee.

Rest of MahaSaptomi till the MahaAshtomi afternoon was busy with hectic visits to around 38 Pandaals in every nook and corner of the city, eating out side, attending the sandhya aorti, dressing up to look best, sweets after every half and hour, food tales in every breath, delicious ‘bhog’ being served for lunch, the  various competitions organized during the puja days,the ‘dhunuchi’ dance competition held in Pandaals in the evening,the sound of the dhaks, the eating stalls…everything from food to amusement was dipped in aura of festive fervor! One didn’t require an excuse to celebrate!

It was exciting…my restlessness was slowly settling by then. These are fun-loving people, I thought, they enjoy food, love the festivities and let themselves loose during once a year…they nurse the actual meaning of festival..a cut  from the boring normalcy of life…in complete contrast to the fasting and refrainment followed by the north indians particularly. I was amazed! The sondhi pujo, and the advent of Nabami was another eye opener with a long list of offerings to the goddess of flowers, gold ring, a bronze bowl for madhuparka, sarees, utensils,bedding, chandmala, 108 pradeeps [earthen lamps], items for bhog among many others…

By the morning of Dashami, the Pujo fever had grown on me.I asked MIL at least five-six times about the time of sindur khela. In my in laws house a delicacy called jora ilish (a pair of hilsa cooked together) was prepared. Before ‘Maa’ left, married women of all age groups  had assembled to take part in an emotional ritual where vermilion (sindur)was applied to the parting of each other’s hair and the loha (the metal/gold coated bangle given to the bride by the mother-in-law) and shanka-pola (the red and white bangles worn by many married Bengali women) were also touched up. It was like mini –holi with sindur instead of colors..beautiful and emotional. Amongst glee and tears and the post-immersion doleful feeling ,Maa left for immersion with an undying hope in the hearts “Aashchhe Bachhor Aabar Hobe” [She will come next year again].

As  I recount all this, some 8000 miles away this year, the thought that there will be no Taanta to wake me up at 4 a.m,no AIR,no one bothers if I eat non veg or veg ,no busy schedule of catching up all the Pandaals of the city …I m sad…really sad. I remember the sweet smell of the effervescent smoke from the dhunuchi and the music of the dhaks…I miss it actually to the core of my heart…the khichuri bhog, the remixed Rabindro Sangeet played in the Pandaals, the excitement on the faces ,the desire to look the best & live up to the new ‘bou‘ of the house .The not so tiny city where I live,has a Hindu temple 30 miles from my place one side.The Indian community, if it exists is handful and we are not a part of one.All I have is, me & P and some memories of  love, life and happiness……trying to make our home a City of Joy!

As a part of memories and the festivities I share with you all a recipe of a simple Bengali delicacy called ‘PatiShapta” taught to me by Taanta.These are rice flour crepes filled with coconut and jaggery.Its darn easy to make and is very tasty.Below goes the recipe:

What I need:

For the crepes :

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour [maida]
• 2 tbsp semolina [suji]
• 2 tbsp fine rice flour
• 1/2 cup milk or more to make a thin batter
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp ghee for cooking [you can use any cooking oil]

For the filling :

• 3/4 cup grated coconut [preferably fresh]
• 1/2 cup jaggery [adjust to taste]
• 1-2 drops rose essence [can be omitted]
• 1/4 cup crumbled khoya [available in Indian grocery stores] [See it here if you want to make at home]
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder

How I did it :

• Thoroughly mix the dry ingredients for crepes,add milk slowly, continuously stirring and combine well together to make a lump free batter.The consistency of the batter should not be very thick or very thin, like the normal crepe batter you make.The milk quantity will vary depending on the coarseness of flour used.Let the batter rest for at least 3 hours.
• Preparing the filling : In a small pan,on a very low heat, melt the jaggery and as it starts melting add the khoya and grated coconut to it.Saute for about 2-4 minutes till the mixture is slightly thick and starts to stick to the sides of the pan.We just have to slightly cook the mixture to remove the rawness.
• Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and add the cardamom powder and rose essence & combine well.Keep aside.

• Making the Crepes: Heat about 1 tbsp of ghee in a non stick pan on medium and spread it over the pan. At all times, make sure that the pan is not too hot or not too cool.It should be medium heated.
• Ladle a small portion of batter on the pan and spread it thin to make a round shape.This will have to be done quickly before the batter cooks up.
• Let the crepe cook for few minutes till it starts getting light brown on the sides.
• Spread the coconut filling on the center of the crepe lengthwise and fold the crepe from both sides one over the other as shown in the picture.
• Cook for 1-2 minutes more.Remove from the pan.
• Garnish with few nuts and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Sending this to event “Beyond Five Days of Durga Puja” at Preoccupied