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

As the weather gets better I am planning my walks to understand this city I call home now. Opened up the season with a pre-Durga Puja walk with Delhi By Foot yesterday.  My way of trying to get a hang of how to do pandal hopping during Durga Puja, supposedly the thing to do in Delhi in October.

The walk in CR park ended up being an insider’s look on the frenzy as Bengali’s get ready for the most important festival of the year. The bazars were overflowing with people shopping in the book fair; buying the special Pujo magazines; wandering through Pujo mela bursting at the sims with stalls of clothes, accesories, home goods; preparing for cultural programs, dance competitions, and last minute planning meetings.

The pandals are getting ready for the arrival of the goddess and her family.

The idols are getting ready at the Kumhor next to the Kali badi in CR Park. Some are being created in the pandals. The visit to the workshop where artisans were preparing the idols reminded me of our childhood visits to the Dhondphale workshop in Rastapeth before Ganesh festival. My father in a bid to avoid the fetival crowds used to take us to the workshop in lieu of the pandal hopping later.

The idol making is completely different in this case however and I am glad I could see behind the curtain work going on. Unlike the lone Ganesh, Durga Puja idols we saw were created as a family – Durga with her lion, flanked by Ganesh with the mouse, Kartikeya with his peacok, and the sisters Lakshmi and Saraswati. The whole family is created on a backdrop built with bamboo. The torso, limbs and body parts, unlike the ganesh murti are first created in hay and then finished with multiple applications of clay of various viscocity. Most of the idols were going to be dressed in actual cloth so only the visible parts were being painted. This was new and different as Ganesh idols come ready with the clothes and accessories created in clay and painted to show the fall of the cloth.

The idols in one of the CR park pandals are ready but still need color, clothing and accesories. The artisans from Kolkata have been working right here since August. When we visited the pandal they were creating paper mache decorations that depict the art forms of Bengal. Organizers urged us not to post photos and ruin the surprise. Looking forward to visit some of the pandals starting saptami to see the finished look.