Bengali Liturgy
Quintessential Bengalis bask in the liturgical Durga Puja ( barowari ) for four days straight. What do they do? We drape the choicest ethnic wears paired with accessories procured throughout the year and consigned to an unreachable corner to restrain or stamp out any vestigial urge of wearing them before the coveted festivities - new clothes for Durga Puja is not a choice, it’s a mandate and an excuse of year-long shopping! We offer Ma fruit, flower, pushpanjali, steeped in apparent reverence while squinting to cheat a bit - speculating what others are wearing - kaani , bhujodi , if that thick necklace is gold, who’s looking more gorgeous in silk or matching mine kora bangles, if I’m up to the bars others have set. An inner voice harks to concentrate on the ridiculously complex Sanskrit chants to be uttered following the Purohit’s cues; I follow reluctantly! It’s undeniably utt...
