The Essence of Durga Puja/Navratri
This was the first time I spent more than half the day at Ramakrishna Mission on Ashtami. The rituals, the sanctity around filled my heart with bliss; I would think only traditional Durga Pujas celebrated in rural Bengal/India and households hold the real essence of purity and spirituality. Other than that, it is mostly a fanfare, a feast, an annual celebration.
Bongs would argue that Durga Puja is an emotion, which it is; and that it is beyond tradition and that there no boundaries to the celebrations. So eating, partying, making merry shouldn’t be criticised. While socialising — meeting family members, friends are all part of the festivities, it is the commercialisation of the same which is a deterrent.
Outside the New Delhi Kali Bari were food stalls selling mutton , egg rolls and people were devouring those like they have never had those before. In fact for many Bongs, Durga Puja is all about egg rolls. And when this is highlighted on social media, the Bong crowd comes in defence that it is not true that non-veg food is sold just a few metres away from the idol of the Mother. Visit the New Delhi Minto Road puja and walk about a few metres away from the murti, and you will find these same very non veg stalls.
Come to North India, and Navratri fasting is something all ladies will boast of, but they will end up eating ‘vrat’ food — rotis made of a kuttu atta, potatoes, chips and rock salt namkeen. They will eat so much in a day that they would otherwise consume in a week and still say they are fasting.
Gujarat and Garba stories are similar though I haven’t lived in that part of the world. Navratri is mostly about Garba nights and for many “socially progressive” young men and women, it is a time for more adventures.
Though I have lived in urban South India, I would still think from what I remember that traditions are followed there in a manner it should be. The temples that I have visited in Bangalore have a certain kind of vibration that I have felt in only a few other places.
Gatherings and meetings are ways of bonding, so are eating together with friends and family. So the kind of food that is eaten in these nine days where the universe vibrates more on energy are important; so are meditation and collective prayers. However for the purification of the mind, the cleansing of the soul, it is important to celebrate the festival in the spirit of it rather than turning it into a fest.
And I lament on this every year:
