good over evil
Durga Puja in Kolkata, Hooghly river, classical dance, fish and crabs on the ceiling, submersion, Saigon, hunger for love, Satyajit Ray, and pigs as bread.
Hello my dear reader,
Thank you for joining me. I hope the week has started well for you.
The last week was beautiful. I flew from Hanoi to Kolkata and went to stay at a friend’s home in the outskirts of the city (from where I sent you the last newsletter). We landed right in the week of Durga Puja — the celebration of the goddess — the biggest festival in West Bengal. So even though the roads around were blocked, large groups of people went dancing and singing and blasting loud music in front of her building all-night long, and you couldn’t even possibly go to a doctor (if you needed to), I saw so much that I wouldn’t have had I not been here at this time.
I am thankful.
The lion-riding Goddess Durga with her children.
Durga in another form.
For the first two days I stay put. But on the main day — the tenth day of the celebration — also known as Dussehra or Vijay Dashmi — signifying the win of good over evil — my friends took us on a four-hour cruise on the Ganga river, or as it is called Hooghly in West Bengal. A group of dance students performed classical Kathak dances on the deck while the boat cruised.
Everyone was dressed traditionally in white and red.
can you believe this is the roof of the boat?
This too. Painted on the ceiling of the boat.
And now some crab activity.
The traditional dances were of many forms. One celebrated the god Shiva and another one was dedicated to the lord of dance, Natraj.
Food was served on the cruise.
The Ganga shores are always alive with activity but that evening was also the immersion evening — when the families and neighborhoods and friends immerse the idol of Durga they have prayed to for the last four days (at least) in Hooghly. It is the same statue that artisans of Kumortuli — the oldest potter’s colony in Kolkata — take at least four-five months to make.
We were a little away on the boat so I don’t have a clear picture of the immersion. I may have some on my Nikon camera and I will share those in a separate article on the blog.
The ride on the river was beautiful — as it always is. On one side we saw the sun setting behind the houses and temples and on the other side we saw people releasing their goddess, their mother, as they call Durga, into the water while making a lot of noise and pouring water all over her.
Not only families had come for the cruise but I met travelers who had come to Kolkata from London just to see the puja.
The Howrah bridge at night. Commissioned in 1943, it is one of the busiest cantilever bridge in the world.
Even though I was in Kolkata, I didn’t immerse in the puja and the celebrations so much. Because we were exhausted from the past one and a half month of traveling from Pondicherry to Kolkata and in Vietnam. Also the crowd on the streets of Calcutta (old name of Kolkata) was overwhelming.
I did explore the fairs nearby, walked along the devotees taking their goddesses with full dance and music and drums to the nearest river shore, and visited some nearby pandals which didn’t have hours-long queue to get inside. And that was enough this time.
toys long-forgotten being sold in the pandal grounds.
The goddess along with the community people in whose area she is put up. Every area, locality, or neighborhood can have their own pandals — centers where the idol is placed and people gather to pray and socialize.
a fleeting view of a pandal from the car
Durga being taken in a truck to be submerged in the river. It is believed that for the ten days of the festival she descends onto earth to be with her devotees, her children, and then they send her back.
They stay with her until the last minute.
Do you also love it when the entire town celebrates something together?
For this week’s letter,
Some of my writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
things to watch,
and
travel tips.
Articles From This Week
Finding Meat-Free Fish Soup, Shoes, and Night Markets in Saigon
My travel narrative of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, is up on the blog. This travelogue takes you through the city's Chinatown, talks about local food, culture, street markets, night markets, and tells the story of our search for meat-free fish soup, hiking shoes, and camera batteries.
Read the travelogue now. Or Pocket for later.
Quotes I Love
“It seems to me that our three basic needs for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it.” — M.F.K.Fisher
“The child, who is decked with prince’s robes and who has jewelled chains round his neck loses all pleasure in his play; his dress hampers him at every step. In fear that it may be frayed, or stained with dust he keeps himself from the world, and is afraid even to move. Mother, it is no gain, thy bondage of finery, if it keep one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth, if it rob one of the right of entrance to the great fair of common human life.” — Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
“Food is not part of a culture. Food is the foundation of a society. It's the river along which communities are built. You take away food from people and you take away everything.” — Yours Truly
From the topmost left corner going clockwise: Tamil Nadu, Northernmost mountains in Vietnam, Hội An, and Bhubaneshwar in Orissa.
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been reading short stories, books, articles, and so much more. I can’t possibly list all what I have read in the past week so I’m putting down the things I found most relevant and worthwhile.
Important reads from the week,
Escaping the Trap of Efficiency: The Counterintuitive Antidote to the Time-Anxiety That Haunts and Hampers Our Search for Meaning by The Marginalian — I loved this read on escaping the efficiency cycle.
Denying reality never works, though. It may provide some immediate relief, because it allows you to go on thinking that at some point in the future you might, at last, feel totally in control. But it can’t ever bring the sense that you’re doing enough — that you are enough — because it defines “enough” as a kind of limitless control that no human can attain. Instead, the endless struggle leads to more anxiety and a less fulfilling life.
The Collected Short Stories by Satyajit Ray — Up until I found this collection of stories in my friend’s house I didn’t know Satyajit Ray — an iconic filmmaker — wrote short stories. Based on the theme of supernatural, life after death, aliens, plants who kill humans, magic, and ghosts, the stories revolve around the lives of ordinary people. I am enjoying the collection and recommend the book to those who love reading short stories and would like to be surprised.
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
that’s worth mentioning
I have only seen the Durga Puja celebrations and heard the beats of the drums this week and nothing online.
And for all my Wanderlusters.
I have shared enough pictures above. But here is one more.
a bread — or is it a sow and her piglets?, Vietnam
Thank you for reading.
I hope you have a great week. Take good care of yourselves :)
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Yours,
Priyanka
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