The Saturday outing to IARI Pusa campus yesterday turned out to be a bust. The idea was to visit their biomass utilisation unit to get some vermicompost, leaf-compost, and whatever else they could offer. Turns out the campus staff recently negotiated a 5 day week that was put in practice today. facepalm
That meant the entire afternoon/evening plans just suddenly evaporated. No compost, no seeds, no visit to their fresh produce store, no wandering in the campus enjoying the greenery.
Decided to salvage the day by visiting barafkhana area for seedlings. The 7 kms took more than 2-3 hrs due to a traffic jam. It became so ridiculous at a point that, for the sake of our sanity, we decided to stop at this quirky cafe set up in a double decker bus.
By the time we got to barafkhana, hurriedly bought last remnants of the seedlings before everything closed, and started back the journey home, it was sundown. On the way back we hit traffic again. Of course… what were we thinking. This time the shops in front of a Kalibadi caught our attention. We had no idea where we were. Had never been to this temple, so decided to check it out and may be make a meal out of the stop.
The temple and the huge pandal in front of it was bustling with festive energy. The Durga idols were closed to viewing with a curtain. Everybody was waiting expectantly. The main temple has a beautiful idol of Kali. A side shrine housed a shivlinga with the garbhagriha decorated with 12 Jyotirlingas. As I was exploring the surroundings, I heard the sound of dhak coming from the back of the temple. Some ritual was underway. I could see at least 6 drummers congregated outside a small enclosure with their dhaks decorated with red panache. The electrified energy was visible as they moved fluidly with the drumbeats even in that cramped space.
The party then moved to the pandal and set up in front of the Durga idols. The curtain was removed and the priests started what looked like rituals for invoking, welcoming the Durga and the family for the festivities. Each idol – Durga, Laksmhi & Saraswati, and Kartikeya & Ganesh – were offered flowers, tilak, fruits, and aarati. Every offering to each idol was accompanied by a short drumroll. This went on slowly and methodically for a while. I wish I had somebody to explain what was going on.
After all the family members were invited, a box of ornaments were brought in. Till now I had not realised that Durga as well as the others did not have आयुध in their hands. One item at a time patiently placed. Veena वीणा for Saraswati, mace गदा for Ganesh, a bow धनुष्य for Kartikeya, खड्ग/वज्र for the Mahishaura. With the spear भाला pointed at the Mahishasur placed with utmost care the picture was complete. I realised now that it was Shashthi, the first day of the Durgapuja festivities. Something I had not experienced the last time I attended it before the pandemic.
The process and the end result was mesmerising. The Dhaks were now in motion again. This time with more space, the drummers moving as a group, dancing facing inwards building on each others’ energy, plumes on the dhaks bobbing up and down rhythmically. Reminded me of JP Dhol pathak in Ganesh Visarjan procession.
When we were new to Delhi, I wandered about aimlessly, and got to know the city through such serendipitous finds. Covid shifted the way I approach the city, the spontainity is lost. This festive season, a chain of events, otherwise frustrating, helped me get back to that mood.
PS: Some other glimpses
devayani tirthali 