The rain gods blessed the city late Monday night, ensuring that the temperatures dipped and the cold breeze gave way to the arrival that everyone had been eagerly waiting for. The goddess has arrived. Navratri or the Devi paksh began last Sunday, and today marks the beginning of Durga Puja.
During Chaitya Navratri which falls on the cusp of spring and summer and Sharad Navratri which falls on the cusp of autumn and winter, many people fast because it is believed that our body's immunity is at its lowest during the season change. Abstaining from consuming grains at that time and sticking only to a fruit-based diet is a way to prepare the body for the upcoming season.
While the festival of Navratri is the time for abstaining and fasting for some, it is all about feasting for others. In the cultural hotpot that is Delhi, on one side you’ll notice the no-onion, no-garlic Navratri special thaalis that are flooding the market so as to not miss out on capturing the fasting audience. On the other, there are vendors and restaurants who’ve put together an elaborate Bengali thaali, and snacks to celebrate Durga Puja.
I was at Delhi’s Bengali hub, Chittaranjan Park, a few days ago—and the excitement in the air was hard to miss. The makeshift stalls leading up to popular pandals were getting ready, to make the most of the festive season. One of the popular, ever-present caterers from Market number 2 of Chittaranjan Park mentioned that his stall will feature the quintessential Bengali jolkhabar (snacks) like Kolkata rolls, dimer devil, veg chops, mutton chops, singhada, ghugni, beguni and aloo chop. A local jhaalmuri vendor has joined hands with him to whip up cones of jhaalmuris for the eager foodies.
But the real action of the Durga Puja feast is behind the main pandals, where the kitchen committees of the respective Pujo Samitis come together to make the most delicious pujo’r bhog. The sight of giant pots of runny khichuri, piping hot begunis, subtly flavoured labra and sweet chaatni can be seen, while chants of “Joy maa Dugga!” blanket the air and enthuse the spirits of the people who’re running the show. Chef Agnibh Mudi, a corporate chef with a leading restaurant chain of India and a member of one of Mayur Vihar’s oldest Pujo shares, “I have been part of the bhog committee since my childhood.
Waking up early in the mornings, going to the subzi mandi, getting tonnes of vegetables and then washing and chopping them, and then to cooking them in big-sized kitchen utensils and serving 800-100 people each day has been a learning experience. Though we work in makeshift tents, far from our professional kitchens, it is the energy of the festival and the bonds that we share while cooking together for a common cause that fuels our souls too. Cooking and serving bhog is an honour and an integral part of my growing up.”
“The bhoge’r khichuri is not just any meal, it is a feeling. It tastes divine and that probably is owing to the energy and the atmosphere that it is cooked in. It is prasad - nourishing and assuring”, shares Sneha Majumdar, a resident of Noida and member of one of the Pujo Samitis here.
The true flavour of the season is in the community experiences. Every year, this time brings together individuals from all walks of life to set up and share feasts with each other. There’s no divide which truly embodies the feeling of oneness.
This is perhaps the greatest takeaway from our festivities; they bring out the best in us. Through food, we savour the joys of our culture—bringing to us a joy unlike other experiences in life. There’s also no great unifier, for all of us displaced groups, than a hark back to the nostalgia of our childhood. This year, like every other, it’s time to bring the joy back—starting today.