...BijoyaDashami....

...Navratri & Durga Puja Concludes...extending "Shubho Bijoya" Greetings  to  Fmly  &  Frnds frm  & across the  Laccadive  Sea  ,  let  our  Good wishes permeate, strengthening  our bonds...Dussehra will  be  celebrated  thru  out  India & abroad....triumph  of  Good  over  Evil.....extending  hearty felicitations  to  all  on the  eve  of  Dussehra.....!!!!

....Durga Pujan.....the Community Pandals ....& the Britons .....

....one thing  gud  abt  the  British was they  never  tampered  with  the  local  customs  ,  rituals  &  religion in  the  Sub  continent.....as  whn  we  compare with  the  other  colonisers Portugal ,  Spain....thr  lies  the  difference between  colonies  of  these  countries ,  be  it the   new  world ,  India , far  east......or  else  things in  India wud  hv  been  chaotic nd  difft  today whn  it  comes to holding  one's  faith  &  the  majority.....the  Gr8  Mughals were  the  same  except for  a notable    exception  Aurangzeb.....the  Gr8  Mughals  were  quite secular  in  their  outlook nd so were  the British.....in  tht  all  the  festivities  of  the  majority  community &  the  minority  were  celebrated  , which  went a long  way   in  establishing the   mosaic of  the Indian  fabric......in  this context the  first  Community Durga  Pujan  of  Bengal  took shape  during  the  East  India  Company ,  nd  was  attended  by  its notable  Governor general ,whn invited  by  the  local  Raja Nobokrishna Deb, of  ShobaBazar,  meaning the British had  a clear  cut  policy  of  Trade &  Trade  only , honoring  the  local  sentiments  ,  custom  ,  nd  culture.....the  Company  Bahadur in  fact  interfered  only  whn  severe  practices  like  'Sati' had  to  be  abolished,  later....Trade  always  dominated the  British  minds nd  all  her  Colonies were developed for  the sheer sake of it.....they  had  no  other  interest other  than  filling  their coffers  tapping  the  raw  world  to  the fullest in  the  name  of  Civilization ....be  it  their  colonies  to  the  East  or  the West .....hence  the  Puja survived  in  Calcutta.....& so do  our Civilization .....!!!!

...Universal.....

.....extreme  brite  it  is  now.....Sunny  Maldives  in  full  bloom......as  rain recedes .....back2back holidays nd recent  trip  to  Malaysia....crescendo had  to  be  followed  by  a total lay back....hence  the back2back hols is welcome....the briteness nd  the  reef a distinctive  feature in  original color....as  if  slowly  enticing  us  back  to  its  fold  to  whr  we   belong  .....U go  anywhr.....homeland too.....yet  the  Distant white sand  nd  the startling reef  in contrast ,  is to, beseech  u again , to take  u  back  to  its  fold....again  & again  it  happens......thr  is  no  escape ....the  warm torquoise waters  nd  crystal clear  view of  the  undersea of  corals  nd  their  inhabitants.....nothing  changes  here......ruled  by  the  four  elements....can  it  really  change..?...the  huge  expanse  of  the  deep  blu as  old  as  the  Universe

......... 

Mahalaya

....the  rains  r  more  freq  now  ....as Mahalaya ushers  in .... Devi  Ma  Durga : Durgotinashini....as  festivities  will engulf  us  despite  being  away  frm  home....we  will  soak  into  it  every  moment  , with  superlative  Connectivity, we  won't  be  left  behind....its  time  to  reconnect, share  our  experiences....for  the  Bengali,  effectively  this  the  New begining to  the  yr.....as Old  will  be  discarded especially  Clothes,   nd  New  welcomed .....as Birendra Krishna Bhadro's Voice Crackled thru  the  early  dawn of  his  immortal  rendition  of  "MahishaSur Mardini", invoking  Mother Goddess  Durga .....a  thrill runs  down  the  spine ....of  a  Conditioned  reflex  so  very  well  nurtured  for  ages  ....yes  this  is  the  8th  decade  of  MahishaSur  Mardini rendition spanning  a  milieu  of host  many a generation in  the  eastern Board  of  the  Country ....Immortalised  :  No Puja  is  complete  without  Listening  to  Birendra  Krishno  Bhodro's  MahishasurMardini .....this  is  my  talk , backed  up by  experiences  of  the formative  yrs of last  Century....my  Children of  this  century , though exposed  to  our Culture  ,  yet  won't understand  much......the  dew  clad  fields  of  Mahalaya   nd  'Shiuli' flowers strewn in  the  garden, they  r  yet  to  experience  these....the  mad  rush  to  arrange  drapes  for  the  whole  fmly for  all the  five  days  of Pujan , the  overactivity  in  Ma's  Kitchen as  she  wud  spin  her  culinary  magic  in  the  Puja  days  ....a far  cry  here .....so  much  to  Modernity .....sacrificed  at the altar  of  modern  times , scattered  nd strewn  thru out  the  world , tenaciously  though , clinging  to  the  Heart  tht  was  Left  behind  .....!!!!

.....A fortnight in Malaysia......

....We r  back  again  frm  the  mid  yr trip on account  of midterm  vacations of  children...as  they rejoin  school & me @ Clinic ....its  time  to update, though  a trifle late....felt  v  much  at home in  Malay  land with  their Bahasa  Melayu having many words  in common  to us....spks  v  much  of the  Indian  reach  to  these  lands....preferred  the  massive public  transit system nd  was  well  rewarded  in  hvn  rubbed  shoulders  with  the locals , & at  the end Kualalumpur adopted us  as we  moved  so  very  freely  as  if  at  home  ....promised  to  return  back  again  .....!!!