Monday, February 18, 2008

Going Home SWEET Home


At this moment there are so many topics in my head for this weeks blog. But none of them can over power the thought that i will be reaching Mumbai on Friday. From past few weeks there is nothing but this excitement of reaching Mumbai and meeting everyone... Its like i have been waiting for this moment since the time i set my foot in US. Everyone here says you will find it very different, it will be difficult for you to cope up with weather, traffic, air, pollution etc etc. Well! i really want to feel that... i want to see that just one year of staying outside my country can change my habits so much? I mean the air which i have breathed for more than 25yrs of my life; i will find it difficult to do so? I agree with the traffic part :D

Right now i feel like a spectator in a tensed India Pakistan match, where India has to chase 380 runs. The suspense of the 2nd innings.... the excitement, the doubts in yr head and the bursting patriotism in my heart. In my one year here, on anyone asking "how do you like it here" my answers where.... i miss mumbai, don't like it, HATE it. Though the comforts i live in now are more than i ever asked for its peaceful, more secured but..... these things could not win my heart. I wonder why?

So here i am waiting to reach my mother land, waiting to see again all the familiar face i have know throughout my life, waiting to visit the familiar places and waiting to feel the difference. Mumbai here i come!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Saraswati Puja





Jaya Jaya Devi
Chara Chara Share
Kucho Jogo Shobhito
Mukta Hare
Beena Ranjita
Pustaka Haste
Bhagawati Bharati
Devi Namastute


Today is Saraswati Pujo, as a child I use love this day. Mom-dad use say “no, don’t touch your books today”. Saraswati Pujo is celebrated by Bengalis on Vasant Panchami which falls on fifth day of Magha according to lunar calendar.

There are lots of traditions that I as a bong followed for this day. Mom and all anuties would say not to eat Kool (the fruit – bore in hindi or Plum). I use to save any yellow colored dress year around for this day. Imagine when you reach pujo pandal and you see 50 hues of yellow, Wow! Every bong who is studying or has kids in school observes a fast. Mom use to say… “don’t even have water till you offer pushpanjali to maa shoroshoti” (pushpanjali is the prayer offered with flowers)

For pushpanjali we use to fight to get palash phool, flower rare to find vibrant red in color… as if; we will not score good marks in exams if we don’t get that flower during pushpanjali. And the Phal prasad given after pushpanjali use to be special, furits like Kul (bore mentioned earlier), sugarcane, very sweet seeded banana use to be there.

For toddlers this day is special too. No Bengali parent teaches there kid to right or read till there Haathe Khodi ( haath is for hand in bangla and khodi is fo
r chalk) every bong kido writes their first alphabets in front of goddess saraswati, the journey begins here! You can read more about saraswati puja here



Monday, February 4, 2008

Namesake



As days are coming nearer for my long awaited trip to India; I keep skipping into flash back mode of old days…. School times, college days, time spent with friends – family. And somehow it took me to what my friends and family called me at different stages of my life.

Yes!! My parents named me as JAYA, Meaning -Feminine form of JAY. It is another name of the Hindu goddess Durga. Initially though they wanted to name me as USHA… as according to my horoscope the hindi akshar U came up, but my mom wanted something a little uncommon. As a Bengali or rather in Bangla it is pronounced as J-O-Y-A. So I am called as Joya by all the Bengalis. At home only my father calls me Joya; di and mom calls me Jayu, i miss the way mom would take my name every morning to wake me up. All my non Bengali friends in our first 10 questions after introduction asks “so do you have a pet name like all bongs do? Which sounds like ribu, papu, popi, dodo,” the answer is NO. Two of my close friends from school call me Jayu too..(I hope you guys read this blog :))

As a teenager and a bully in school people nick named me Amitabh Bachchan ha ha….. I really was a dada in school. In college my group “PAKAUS” called me as Jaya dada, I tried to leave my bully and tom boy traits back in home – but it didn’t quite work.

Then came those days of facing the real world… yeah work life! I have worked in 5 different places… everywhere was named something @ Informatics it was chulbuli fataka, Call centre – Chelsea Roggers (pseudo name) they also called me Bong Babe, friends at Maratha…….. ha ha we use to great each other as… chudail, kamini, manhus (we still do that), GRM… it was - J- just that…. And my last place of work… I really miss ITC GRAND CENTRAL my boss Mr. Malik called me Miss India, fountain of English, Gonchi Gaan (means confused cow) depending on his mood, other colleagues called me Bhatakti atmaa… coz I use to appear at places least expected of me to be… :D :D


Just when I thought it was over… after shaadi… it didn’t… I got another name, what my loving Sasu maa calls me Mamuni (all her love can be felt when she takes my name) So that’s it till now…. I am sure there will be many more…