"Hey, my bro is getting married!"....
"Yes, all fixed!....the alliance is all the way from Kolkata."...
"He found her all by himself....he has fallen in love!"
The very excited little sis screamed via the phone. A Bengali bride to place her footsteps in the house! Being educated in Maharashtra she was quite familiar with the North Indians and of course Hindi fluency was at the peak....Confident enough to begin a conversation with her Bengali Bhabi!
******
That was about three years back when we were blessed with a new member...A bundle of special memories!
Dusssehra, Vijayadashmi and Durga Pooja...these festivities remind me of the first time when I visited Kolkata. Regardless of my visits for the marital functions, my travel to the city of joy to experience and explore the Durga pooja celebration was splendid.
The Pandal hopping began from the first day we reached. It was magnificent!!...The Bengali creativity, crafstmanship and all artistic skills could be sensed through theses Pandal structures. They cannot just be described as beautiful. To be precise, they were unique masterpieces with notable intricacy and the highlighted idol of Goddess Durga, the centre of attraction.
The vivid lights..the remarkable soothing music of eminent Bengali musicians which add to the background score.....Everything together immerses oneself in the joyous environment leaving behind all those sufferings, worries and grievances.
The culture, the custom and the tradition of Bengal is much highlighted in these Pandals. We, coming all the way from the very own God's own Country was quite strange to these ornamentation then!...
"Yes, all fixed!....the alliance is all the way from Kolkata."...
"He found her all by himself....he has fallen in love!"
The very excited little sis screamed via the phone. A Bengali bride to place her footsteps in the house! Being educated in Maharashtra she was quite familiar with the North Indians and of course Hindi fluency was at the peak....Confident enough to begin a conversation with her Bengali Bhabi!
******
That was about three years back when we were blessed with a new member...A bundle of special memories!
Dusssehra, Vijayadashmi and Durga Pooja...these festivities remind me of the first time when I visited Kolkata. Regardless of my visits for the marital functions, my travel to the city of joy to experience and explore the Durga pooja celebration was splendid.
The Pandal hopping began from the first day we reached. It was magnificent!!...The Bengali creativity, crafstmanship and all artistic skills could be sensed through theses Pandal structures. They cannot just be described as beautiful. To be precise, they were unique masterpieces with notable intricacy and the highlighted idol of Goddess Durga, the centre of attraction.
The culture, the custom and the tradition of Bengal is much highlighted in these Pandals. We, coming all the way from the very own God's own Country was quite strange to these ornamentation then!...
The Pandal hopping was a lifetime experience for us. But, Amma and myself had glances on something else as well!!....The vibrant Bengal cotton sarees draped on women...the way they dressed! Along with the deity, they themselves were decorated well...beautiful enough! The color red dominated. Majority of the women were draped in a red coloured saree with a prominent red bindhi and sindoor which signifies the married. Unique!!...We remained spectators.
The exquisite Bengal cotton saree is a must have. But, we had to leave empty handed then due to the closed shops for the pooja celebration.
The cuisine is also a masterpiece there! The scrumptious meal we had...the mouth watering, tempting delicacies....and finally the concluder of the meal...the dessert...The very sweet rasgullas to the tanda-tanda misht doi!!
The experience will forever be memorable.... And luckily, that was not the end. We had even more chances to visit Kolkata, indulge in it's beauty and pack home a bundle of Bengal cotton sarees and other varieties!...
At this moment, I owe my bro for the Bengali love!
