When Hospitality Became The Theme Of A Durga Puja

Before we reached the venue, we did not know much about them; how they organize a festival, or how they decorate the idols, or how they bring in a family-like feel, or how they greet all the devotees. So it was a classic case of ‘no expectations’, really! As each unexpected thing brings, this one too did – yes, it brought lots of surprises, and I assure you, they were all fascinating ones.

A young boy and family of two were present to greet us, hold our hands and let us in. The smiles on their faces were very pure, almost pristine. For us, it felt like we had come out of our homes in Malmö, and we were just entering into a new home in Copenhagen, where the Bengali Cultural Association, who were hosting Durga Puja (the most important and the most awaited festival of the Bengalis, notwithstanding the part of the world they are living in) in the heart of the Danish capital, were welcoming us to the very center of a celebration, which by all means, they wanted to celebrate with all – yes, with all who would come and join them.

If artistry is expression then sophistication is a mean to achieve it – the simple, expressive, artistic and sophisticated decoration of the idols beamed in front of our eyes. Entering the hallway, looking at the idols and then looking at the structures behind and around filled the eyes with color, in abundance. Nice crafty handwork, with a certain neatness and a certain pattern, is a palatable food for human vision – the decoration did exactly that.

From arrangement to management – not an ounce could go wrong! The rituals of the Puja – with clear utterances of the Shlokas, the devoted decorum showed during the Pushpanjali, and the glory of the Aarti – were constantly ornamented by the constant flow of beats of the ever-gorgeous Dhaak and the ever-tingling Kartal. A special note of thanks to the ladies as they typified a unified family, in the heart of a foreign land, by doing every bit of their work as neatly as possible.

The small children mingled and mixed with each other, they loved each other’s company. There were enough spaces in the hall and in the surroundings for them to just run around, and circle and whirl – as if they had found a gateway to freedom. Perhaps, this is what is called a “festive mood”!

The Prasad (or the food) was simple, and since it was simple, it tasted delectable. Maybe it proves a simple point: If you are simply devoted, you are simply beautiful. We ate a lot, without knowing if the rest will suffice the rest. But it did, and all of us ate together – it was the simplest gift from Devi Durga.

As like John Keats once lamented over the fact he could not spend more time in the countryside and that his obligations and duties towards a very dingy city-life overpowered his thoughtful self, something similar had to happen to us too. We missed a good part of the celebration where the participants performed – in front of a gracious and supportive audience – later during that evening. There were dance programs, theater acts, musical acts, and what not! We missed all that, but thanks to the Internet, we could see a few of the recordings later.

Question now is – how should we wind up this piece? Or rather, how could I? What would be the best way to round up this write-up? I think there is no best way, but there are possibly two good ways to do this.

The first one goes like this. A dear brother whom we met and with whom we struck a chord of instant friendship mentioned the word “Temple” to describe their premise. Almost instantaneously, my mind validated the word. The couplets and verses of Rabindranath Tagore, as he wrote in his timeless poem “Deenodaan”, splashed and shone in front of my eyes. Those lines, those immortal lines felt so true: A temple where there is no soul is not a temple, God can never be installed there. To the organizers, to the volunteers, to the participants, to the devotees, to the performers and to the commoners – if we take a leaf out of the book that narrates this Puja, and store it somewhere in our hearts, we will become a better person.

Then the second one of course! Devi Durga is a symbol of triumph. A triumph is a win, a win is over an opponent, and an opponent is either right or wrong. Asur was wrong and therefore Durga’s win was a win of the good over the bad; win of the righteousness over the evil and win of normalcy over all other deterrents. When we left the venue, we were won over. We were won over by the forces of normalcy, brotherhood, togetherness, camaraderie, and above all, a great show of hospitality.