Unwritten: Durga Puja 2018 - Festival Special #3

Cleansing Energies - Durga and Her Surprise!

Yes cleansing surprise or shall we call it a surprise cleansing of old energies?

Durga arrives unannounced or with very short notice. Ever happened to you? Well it is happening to me all day in surprising twists and turns of the long tale of Pujo '16. First I wake up to find that the hand** that feeds (the world?) has bitten itself again. But fear not. Barely have I finished the irksome chores of the morning – read having those pesky pills – and started preparing for a nap than a call comes in. Sailesh* it is.

Durga has taken the avatar of Sailesh and decides there is no time like now to barge in and clean and polish the copper and brass ware that have lain dark and neglected since Param the weekly help, took the dust off them. He didn’t do a bad job but soon thereafter undid his good job by bolting to his village.

It has only just been Rosh Hashanah. But who goes by an outdated calendar? Two hours went in bringing a sparkle to the plates and pots and a couple of god-icons to boot. In an unprecedented operation the Ganges too was cleaned(!) Please ask me how?

And I know you will ask after Pages 9 and 10 (Morning Pages in sequence.)
Perhaps 9 was one of those eggs that will never hatch. 10 is fragile and has been delivered into neo-natal. She is the most powerful deep inside and needs time to strengthen her form before she bursts out to greet the world. In fact she is about magic.

Meanwhile on with Durga’s show. She decides what to clean and arms us with the tools. It takes some convincing and some name dropping (Maji swore by this this this) before Sailesh decides that nimbu and imli (lime and tamarind) are his friends in need.

Devis swapping identities

Durga decides that Lakshmi is Durga first and foremost and Lakshmi’s sparkle is restored in stages. I admire the power and grace in his hands. Not a clumsy move. I remember when he painted the walls of the altar. Never a brush stroke to be seen anywhere. He is delighted and honored to be doing God’s work (no he is not being Mother Teresa) and is at his creative best.

The site where he’s hired to supervise a plumbing job, is exploiting him. He hasn’t received any cash yet. I thought daily labor meant you were paid at the end of the day but hey today’s new Zamindars have it both ways like Schrodinger’s cat. Damn that cat, it turns up with an answer to every puzzle!!!

There was a person decades before that kitty became party talk, who believed something similar (eating/having of confectionery) was possible – but of her another time! So Lakshmi-Durga is ready to be seated at the altar. She is wiped dry with the cleanest cloth on hand – my freshly washed nightie – who on earth was ready for this surprise atithi and his invaluable contribution? But today he proved the old adage about guests and God.

This morning I was talking to someone about allowing Durga to lead. I was ready to follow blindly. And here she was. I was thinking about all the astras that the gods equipped her with for battle. But Devi is not about that kind of testosterone fueled battle. Today she was clearly about the lotus weapon of healing. I am watching as the sparkle comes back to the altar one inch at a time. I am already bursting with new ideas like the lotus waits to burst into bloom at the threshold of dawn. I could use all these polished plates.

You wonder where to hide away unwashed, stained, weary brassware that seems to have seen better days. But in one stride brighter days arrive at your altar. The plates will all perch atop it. Does that mean the kalasha that was placed a couple of days ago (leading to the sore-hands- rinse-and-repeat) will have to be lifted off to accommodate a plate? What about tradition?

Well after all the reading I did this time about a whole range of family traditions, all of which are considered valid and many of which contradict one another, I figured out that being creative is MY tradition. Tomorrow is anyway the day of “Ghat Sthapan” (installing the kalasha) in pandals. Indeed there are so many stages of imbuing with life, awakening, connecting and de-linking, that there is no one right answer. So the ghat that was sthapified (cool word) will be re-sthapified tomorrow. No need to unsthapify anything. I am happy.

I was disturbed by the way some people view tradition. I must clarify, not unpleasantly disturbed but merely in a way that makes me introspect. Elsewhere I have asked people to come forward with their opinions on an article about a person’s recreation(revival) of tradition and adherence to a set of rituals that he believes are The Way(I’m sure there are scriptural edicts to bear him out). I confess I have read very little scripture. So this deviant who is un-showered and is munching candy and chewing her nails is standing alongside Sailesh who had a bath and wore fresh clothes for God’s Work - and we are creating new traditions.

A day of cleansing before the start of festivities. He cleans and brings green, stained brass and dull grey copper to life. I click away to record the process of recreation and renewal. We too are reviving tradition. A creative venture of this kind is energizing. It provides soul-food and I am amazingly sitting and writing this instead of pouncing on my lunch. I am excited to tell this tale. It is worth it. And when I get down to 1-2-3 attack (that’s my way of saying grace for those who don’t know) it will be me rewarding myself. Pictures will follow. Chloe seems to want lunch too.

The cover picture in full