DurgaPuja – The
Journey
This is not about Devi Durga’s journey from Kailash (Near Mt. Everest) to earth but that of few of the women and men - who take pains year after year of adding one more pressing demand in their already
over-sandwiched life for last five years.
This journey, for some quite unnecessary and for few rather fulfilling,
is bit strenuous and adventurous at times without the physical heroics. For Some others, though they aspire to get involved but succumb to the burden on daily life.
They start rolling their sleeves at the start of August.
It can be well concluded that this whole saga is running an enterprise barring the enforcement hierarchy. In the social context, this poses challenges proven to be extremely difficult to handle. By no means, this
is a small feat to stitch things together end to end without hurting sentiments and ego of your fellow journeymen and women in the process. Besotted by the love and passion of doing something different,
the immensely intensified two-three months pose a new set of challenges to their lives - balancing professional
and personal front to the extent whatever is left and adding this third
dimension – they graduate to be multifaceted in their own circles.
Ultimately one day, over tea and snacks, the journey starts with a planned and re-planned kick-off meeting to break the inertia. During the
course , life presents itself with varied experiences in different forms, on one side be it group
politics, polarization, heated arguments, overpowering opinions and on the other
hand appreciation for sealing a good deal or collecting few hundreds of
bucks for subscriptions or completing a task. People play, yes, People do play in various way and means- some to get the work done, some to do the work. At times, it
looks hilarious if seen from a distance and dispassionately but we, human
beings, live with all these, amidst all these and end up being a part of it.
This is the very psyche of human relationship and there is nothing wrong about
it.
The dynamic chaos propel the momentum day by day.
While on my association on this journey over the years, life
has thrown a plethora of surprises - pleasant and unpleasant, for my social landscape through a myriad
of interactions, reactions and happenings which were hitherto unknown to me.
Foolishly I used to think that logic and truth are universal and absolute and
failed to notice their very relevance to the contexts or perspectives. My
this very understanding that all disagreements and disputes are solvable through
dialogues across the table, got a new dimension that made me wiser. Being tolerant to
other opinions -how absurd or intelligent they may be to you but not to the
person making the opinion, being heard and listening to the debate, going with
the flow at times, adjustments to situations, remaining dispassionate about issues close to your heart, keeping your personal thoughts
bereft of ego and above all not being judgmental are a few significant practical lessons
for me being there all through. All these experiences with fellow human beings – how venerable and/or young blood ,have shown me different shades of human
character and behavioral aspects , otherwise
un-being and unbelievable of them .
That’s a gain and I am stronger mentally. I have matured.
Though these are nothing new in the game called “life”. Encountering them first hand ,in the context of social life, in addition to family and corporate personas , has
enriched me to the extent beyond any limits.
This account can go on and on but without prolonging this
any further, I would like to bring up my particular personal association with
our beloved Sarojda, much senior to me by age but much more spirited, motivated
and energetic - a true soldier, guarding every bit of our association as a towering father
figure. Though I fail to keep up with his
big strides in this journey, I do cherish the lovely bonding that has developed
over chanda collection from door to door, making innumerable
calls, sending SMSs, driving miles after miles, taking a sip of tea with Jelabi
or Samosa in the gulleys of HSR or Koramangla. I feel this bonding has tested
the time through thick and thin, highs and low and has not been broken even
pushed into situations with dire consequences. There have been as small as 5 minutes catch up ramblings at the
end of the day almost every day to go over the progress of the day and plan for next day. This year, he recovered from a somewhat serious nephrology operation
few months back and I had a faint of doubt that probably his feet will walk
slower than ever and not run as usual but he proved me wrong day after day in all the activities. Defying
all the odds, the relationship is a lasting one and is of a brotherly nature –
respected by our close friends and associates.
At the end of it all, once Durgapujo is gone, they get onto
something else.
Did I say it is someway fulfilling?
Unconsciously, probably yes.
--Jayanta Tewari
--Jayanta Tewari
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