every year,since i can remember,this day my mom is up at 4.00 am and my dad at around the same time,and i am woken up and my room ,which has always been the largest one,is rearranged,so that the purohit can perform the tarpan ceremony.
meanwhile,i am shifted to the other bed,and i always sleep off again,and then i am reawakened at around 6.15,and wrapped around in a blanket(when in Delhi)and bed sheet(in Calcutta),for the shaanti jaal to be sprinkled on my head,and just so that it doesn't touch my feet.
and this is when i know its puja time
when i was in school,i knew,holidays (though a short one of only 10 days)were around the corner, and my new dresses one each for saptami, ashtami and navami were ready.i knew the menu for ashtami always,it is still the same today,luchi in morning just after the pushpanjali,afternoon khichudi with beguni,or fulkopir pakoda,and night if we still have stomach for it,pulao or paratha,usually the latter sharing from my mothers plate
puja over the years has lost that charm for me,i hardly get excited at the thought -i think of the traffic jams,the noise,the hopelessly large crowds,and the ever competing pandalware;but mahalaya remains special as it did yesterday
forever i have seen my father performing this tarpan,not only as a duty,but because he believes that his parents and forefathers deserve this .he has never ever complained about there faults,or mistakes,he has never judged them.
he believes what they did was right,what they taught was right....
i used to think he was blindly following rituals just for the sake of doing it, but no,he believes
it is his conscious will,
that is why he is a great man,
unlike me who will always complain and blame him for all my shortcomings
puja is here,its time to chose the gods whom we want to worship.....
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ReplyDeleteso nice and so true....this read is bringing back fond memories of the happy days gone by ....amader barir shiuli gachh, jeta amar maa nije lagiyechhilen...tar neecher matita bhore thakto phul e...amar mohalayar bhor e kaaj chhilo birendra krishna bhadrar chandipath sunte shunte phul tule thamma ke dewa...oi akdin eshe janiye jeto j agami koekdin no porashona shudhu ananda, moja, khela ar hashi...nishpap shhishuman er debi bandana ekei bodhoe bole...dinguli jodi abaar phire ashto
ReplyDeletehuge thanks for such a wonderful post.
bhishon sundor post ar comment. amar elta bhishon afshosh aache life e. ami kono din aj obdhi amar bapi r jonnyo tarpan korte parlam na...amar bhalo lage na, kintu guilty lage abar helpless o lage...
ReplyDeletetorpon is just a ritual which was created by our social police and which is followed by generations without a single question asked. why this ritual was created or what is the necessity and the cause of this ritual is still unknown to me but what touches me is the humane aspect of love and respect for our dead ancestors.
ReplyDeleteI remember dad taking me on his torpon trips to bagbazar ghat every year till i was 11 years old. I used to very curious and ask him "why do u need to do this, what happenes..." and he used tell me.."amader jara purbopurush tara ajke amader ke dekhte asen, dekhte asen je amra bhalo achi kina are aajker dine sworge jol paoa jay na tai tara aajke amader kache jal khete asen..." ar ami chokh bodo bodo kore boltam..tai, tahole tumi o jokhon sworge jabe, tokhon tumi o amake dekhte asbe..tokhon amake bokbe na to...tahole ami tomar jonyo jol aanbo na..komla lebur ros ar taler ros niye asbo, jol to tumi roz i khao..ekdin pholer ros khabe...tokhon amader kache pholer ros ta chilo delicacy...amra gorib chilam to tai...
baba bodo bhalobhasto komla lebu ar taler ros...ar seidin i ekbar dekhechilam..baba r chokher kone chikmik korche ek phota jol..khub kosto hoyechilo...mone mone protigya korechlam...baba ke ar kandabo na.. baba ja bolbe sob shunbo..
kotha rakhte parini, baba amar jonyo, amar behush bohemian selfish nature er jonyo anek osto peyeche...konodin mone poreni je ekbar babar chokhe ek phonta jol dekhechilam.. ar seidin mahalayar bhore prothom bar baba ke jol ar pholer ros diye elam.. seikhane jekhane baba niye jeto..sei ghat, sei kaada makha shiri..gongar cholat cholat kora choto dheu er duluni.. sob kichui ek chilio...chilona seindin amar songe amar chele...chilona seidin ekta nirbhoy,je baba songe ache... ar seidin i ghate dariye hau hau kore kende utchilam.. mone hochillo keno baba nei...keno uni chole gelen...
baba nishobde kendechilen kintu kedechilen ar amio kendechilen...kichu jinish ei bhaibei bodhoy ek purush theke ar ek purushe mishe jay....etakei bodhoy sanskar bole...etodin bisawas korte parini je baba ar nei ar ekhon bodhoy chupisahare moner bhetore sidhel chor er moto ba shaolar moto jonmache biswas... baba ar nei...
'puja is here,its time to chose the gods whom we want to worship'
ReplyDeletebrilliant thought..
we have so many choices these days..
'choice' of Gods/values very aptly sums up what you have written
thanks debanjan,coming from you,i take it as a real compliment.and yes that was exactly what was intended.
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