Shubho Bijoya/ Happy Dussehra 2023

I had nil expectations from Durga Puja this year. With my father falling sick after my son’s birthday and showing slow signs of recovery, we weren’t even sure if we could leave Kolkata and head toward my hometown, Berhampore, this time. Until the Chaturthi evening, my husband was with Baba at a diagnostic center for a CT scan. We tried to cheer him up by taking him to the puja pandals in New Town and Salt Lake, but his heart was elsewhere.

But my heart was worried and restless. After my son’s birth, we made it a ritual to return to our roots or the place that’ll always be home for my husband and me. On Panchami morning, looking at Baba’s yearning to return to Berhampore, we spoke to his Urologist and took him home.

On the way, the kid captured glimpses of kaash phool on the mobile; we envisioned creative pandals in the making. Like every year, I spent Saptami and Ashatmi with Baba as our trio gave Saptami pushpanjali at our Baganpara pandal. We spent the day eating bhog and hopping pandals.

We spent our evenings at the UCC puja pandal, an initiative started by the husband and his childhood friends five years ago. It was fun to celebrate my husband’s birthday with his friends and their families on 22nd October.

I was back to my marital home for Nabami and Dashami. Family get-togethers, pandal hopping leading us to the towns of Lalbagh and Jiaganj, UCC dinner nights, and lots of food and fun marked our celebrations.

After Bisarjan, a tinge of sadness crept into my mind like every year. Durga Puja is the biggest festival for any Bengali; we wait for these four days eagerly. Needless to say, the countdown for the next Durga puja has already begun.

Post Dashami, we spent the days meeting relatives, seeking their blessings, and enjoying delectable feasts. Friends planned a meet-up in the form of Bijoya Sammelani that took us to a dhaba in the town of Palsanda. We took the kid for a movie outing to watch “Jongole Mitin Mashi’, the adaptation of Suchitra Bhattacharya’s thriller featuring Detective Pragyaparamita Mukherjee, popularly known as Mitin Mashi. The kid is developing a penchant for detective thrillers by following in the footsteps of his mother.

On the second last day of our stay, we drove down 50 kms to explore Maggie and tea at a tiny outlet. I didn’t realize how time flew, but it was time to pack. Rather than enjoying the festivity on Lakshmi puja, we got emotional since we had to return to Kolkata the following day.

On Sunday evening, we were back in the city my son calls home. Unpacking, settling down, arranging his projects for submission, and packing his school bag made me realize that vacation was indeed over, and we were back to the grind.

Now that the child’s school has restarted, the husband has gone back to his medico duties, and I’m back to writing, a part of me is yearning for the Diwali holidays to come fast. It’s when we go on our annual break, and I can’t contain the excitement. However, I’m not disclosing the location yet to keep the suspense intact.

Stay tuned for the upcoming gorgeous pictures from a few cities familiar to me but new to my husband and son.