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How does a Bengali staying outside Kolkata for work or education, feel during Durga Puja?

  A huge bengali diaspora is living outside West Bengal, be it for work or education. Durga Pujo is that time of the year when every bengali wants to be home. We are an enthusiastic lot. We ardently wait for that shorot akash (clear autumn sky) and pujor gondho (smell of puja). Durga pujo is not only a favorite festival but an emotion. It is for these five days, that we store all our energy. As soon as we bid adieu to Maa on Dasami, we start counting days for the next year.  So my question is - do all Kolkatans feel the same emotion about Durga Pujo? Or are they happy to celebrate pujo outside Kolkata? Presently, I am living in Bengaluru for the past five years but never have I wanted to celebrate the festival here. Not many of us would understand the emotions. We make plans months before the festival starts - What to wear, where to shop from, where to meet etc. This is the only time of the year when  we get to meet most of our friends and family. You will find many pujas happening in
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Confessions of a shopoholic...

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Confessions of a shopaholic...              Gariahat market often reminds me of the poem 'Bazaars of Hyderabad' by Sarojini Naidu.  " what do you sell o ye merchant?     richly your wares are displayed.     turbans of crimson and silver,     tunics of purple brocades,... What do you make, o ye goldsmiths? wristlet and anklet and ring, bells for feet of blue pidgeons frail as a dragonfly's wing,....."                  Someone told me that shopping can be used as a therapy to better one's mood.     Being a shopaholic, I would agree with that 'therapy' part. It becomes almost compulsory to shop every time I go out. Not that I need to buy anything useful every time, but somehow I cannot refrain myself from buying stuff. It is very easy to become a shopaholic today even without even realizing it.  *****************************************  Shopping can be great fun when walking through
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পুরানো সেই দিনের কথা.........

  This might be the most useless post written by me, but  হোক এই useless post টা কেন  জানিনা বাংলা তে লিখতে ইচ্ছে হচ্ছে।  ****************************************************** আজ অনেকদিন পর আলমারি পরিষ্কার করতে গিয়ে অনেক পুরনো জিনিস খুঁজে পেলাম।পুরনো জিনিস বলতে ওই যখন school e পরতাম।বন্ধু দের সঙ্গে অনেক ছবি, slam books, greetings card, একটা চাপটা গোলাপ, ছোট ছোট paper chits, যার মধ্যে অনেক কিছু লেখা হত. It feels so good. এক এক সময় মনে হয় ওই bench গুলো তে গিয়ে একটু বসে আশি. কত তারাতারি বড় হযে গেলাম।  ******************************************************  Exam er সময় maths r paper জন্য ভয় পাওয়া, report card r জন্য ভয় লাগা, আর নতুন বই র গন্ধ smell করা. নতুন ক্লাস এ যাওয়া আর best friends দের জন্য জায়গা reserve করে রাখা. boring class e ঘুম পাওয়া, whole class er punishment পাওয়া , I miss those days..   এখনো ভাবলে মনে হযে, এই তো সেদিন ই class x ICSE exam শেষ হল আর কিছুদিন পর তার result বেরোলো। ভাবলে হাসি পায়ে। আবার একটা ডায়েরি ও পেলাম যেখানে অনেক কিছু লিখতাম, মানে secre
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Superstitions...

Superstition is an irrational belief or an ominous belief in a particur thing...In India, people belonging to various religious, cultural, e la thnic, and racial groups believe in superstitions. In spite of living in 21st century,  dont let go of such beliefs. Outwardly we might show everyone that w we e have modern views but inwardly most of the people are aware of superstitions.  *********************************   Being a bengali, I too have seen my Ma (mother), thamma (paternal grandmother) and my didima (maternal grandmother)follow a number of such superstitions. When asked the real logic behind them, you get to hear a number of unsatisfactory answers like,         " অতো জানিনা বাবা , আমরা এতো প্রশ্ন করতাম না তোমাদের মতো " (we dont know so much, we never asked so many questions) Let me share some of the popular superstitions that the bengalis follow: If one sneezes while going out, then one should wait for a while to prevent bad luck, One
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