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| Khichuri bhog by @shibaniek |
Bhog and the socially distanced Pujo
You are used to seeing images like the one above on my feed at this time of the year. The Durga Pujo bhog. Served on a sectioned plate. Khichuri, beguni, torkari, chaatni, payesh. Placed on a nearby ledge for Instagram, after I got my plate from the bhog counter at the community Durga Pujo.
This one was different.This very soothing platter of food was placed on the windowsill at home, where I feed little Nimki in the morning, before I took the food out on a plate and had lunch. Most kindly to me by Mumbai based home chef @shibaniek . The khichuri was exactly the way I like it, a bit ghono (thick).
We are in the middle of Durga Pujo in the year of the Covid pandemic and I miss going to the Bandra Pujo and standing with Koushik and the enthusiastic volunteers at the bhog counter, helping when needed. Having lunch together with them at the end of service on the podium, sharing joy after shedding blood, sweat and tears earlier.
I miss going to the Bombay Durga Bari pujo with my family and being welcomed like family by Jayantada and the committee members. Warmly and lovingly fed by the ladies at the bhog counter.
I must confess that I have not followed the bodhon or any of the other Durga Pujo broadcasts online that have been posted by the Bandra Durga Pujo and the Bombay Durga Bari Pujo. The two Durga pujos which make Mumbai feel like home to me during the pujos.
Guess I am too old fashioned for a virtual Durga Pujo!
To me pujo is all about the people. Finding comfort in the crowds at the pandal. The smattering of Bengali being spoken all around. The pujo rituals performed in the pandal. The aroma of food from the snack counters and bumping into friends there. The dhunuchi naach. Bhog bitoron.
Or meeting up with friends at each other’s houses. Fellow probashi (expat) Bengalis in Mumbai.
Playing with ‘cap pistol’ with my friends in my building in Kolkata much earlier in life. Going to see the pandals with my friends when I was in Kolkata when I was a bit older. The cultural programmes. The community lunches. Movies shown on huge white bedsheets.
None of that will happen this year. So I prefer to shut it all out and continue with life as one knows it. My preferred way of dealing with things in life that are not in my reach.
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| Debjan Pujo. PC: Ratna Basu |
Then I saw a whatsapp forward that my mother sent via Ratna Basu of the pujo in our building in Kolkata. The pujo which was witness to my boys to men story … and for a bit it felt like the pujos again.
I know the pain I felt as a kid and later a collegian in Kolkata during the two years when I had fever and couldn’t go to the pujo pandal and had to stay home. Then there were the years that followed when I was fine and when life was beautiful again. As were the pujos.
This has been the year of staying home and safe and being with family. I guess we will learn to appreciate that even more during the pujos.
The ‘other’ ashtami.
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| Halwa puri channa from the Grovers |
Ashtami bhog for me, and Bengalis world over, means khichudi. Khichdi made with moong dal and rice. A celebratory dish for us. Filled with gratitude.
I was intrigued to read food writer Pamella Timms once write about the halwa puri channa that she had on Ashtami at a Durga Puja in Delhi. Over the years I learnt through the Instagram feeds of North Indian Instagrammers that this is the combination had by the Punjabis and other north Indians on the occasion of Navratri. In other words, Oshtomi on Durga Pujo means khichuri, and Ashtami on Durga Puja means halwa puri channa!
Halwa puri channa on Ashtami features in my life too now thanks to our friends the Grovers who live down the lane. I might not have had the Durga Pujo bhog this year but thanks to Anu and Manoj, I still got to savour the Ashtami halwa puri channa in these ‘socially distanced’ times.
As I keep saying, life is all about counting ones blessings and not calories!
Signing off with a hat tip to home chefs, chefs, caterers, restauranteurs and hoteliers all over who are working hard to bring treats of joy to our homes and thereby some smiles too.
The #KittyKarmakars
Do check the Instagram pages of:
Mumbai home chefs doing Bengali food on the pujas
