As the festivities begin...

It has been raining intermittently since the past month…well, it no longer takes a monsoon to bring out your umbrellas and rain coats. The Low Pressure troughs have been a bit too frequent over the Gangetic Plains this year…Looming, dark clouds gather almost every alternate day causing creases on more an every alternate face on the roads. Perhaps we a re a bit too tired of rains…perhaps we are a bit too tired of half dried clothes with a musty smell…perhaps we are a bit too tired of the mucky lanes or the more than half drenched roads!

Guess its finally time for Zeus…or Indra (They look strangely familiar in spite of their locational differences!) to take a rest for the year! The over-drenched humans are now crying out loud for a bit of sun! As the roads of the metropolis remain drowned to the waist even after scorching sun beats down on the rain drenched city (Thanks to the Civic Services!) the sick and tired souls of the city call out more to the Civic Authorities rather than the All Powerful Gods. It’s no wonder then that the theme-crazy Puja organizers do not hesitate to replace the moulds with a more bureaucratic look that the usual ethereal ones in their bid to be the best! Actually there is hardly an option left! With the Potters Zone either remains submerged in waist deep water or another harsh Low Pressure starting to beat down on it mercilessly, the traditional idols hardly get a chance to dry up in time!

And of course there is the Puja Shopping…perhaps one of the favourite pastimes for Us, proud Kolkatans! As the rains put a hold on the entire affair for a few days, the remaining ones see record crowd gathering around the shopping centres, and the bazaars of the city so much that life becomes tough for the rest of the world. Well, news here then…the Met Department has predicted a Dry Puja this year (sound strangely familiar to Dry Days!!!) leading to the obvious conclusion of the opposite! So fellow city-ans…keep your umbrellas and raincoats ready for the five days of celebration! And be sure to include waterproof clothes in your Puja Wardrobe. Oh yes and it’s Floaters Time…and so, the Reeboks and Nikes of the world unite…for its time for the Khadims, Sreeleathers and the lot to rest in peace…

And then the Rizwanur Rehman Case still remains shrouded in mystery as authorities juggle it between themselves arguing over when to prosecute the suspected officials! For Life’s Sake…the guy was found dead and in all probabilities murdered…and yet the discussions range between whether it will be right to prosecute the people concerned! And of course the ‘Ration Revolution’ as it has been labeled now, continues to claim lives and burn shops and assets. The Authorities are as usual at a loss about which side to take – the ones they had been stealthily taking or the ones they have to openly take to save their faces! Oh yes…Nandigram continues to simmer like on a perpetual fire…with deaths in a row and definite more to follow wonder what appeals to them now…The blue skies with white clouds floating? The smell of autumn emanating from every part of the world? The Mahalaya and Puja dawning with its usual fervour? Or food, land and respect?

Will be back with more updates on the city and around and of course everything else that will remain dormant and will eventually die a unnecessarily predictable death…

Well….Happy Durga Puja people…