(Originally written in the autumn of 2005)
Driving on Pacific Coast Highway–Route 1, the most scenic of roads in the United States, this time of the year – you are bound to notice the explosion of orange on the green farms. This, in preparation for the famous Half Moon bay Pumpkin festival. It is also the time that some residents of the Bay area, originally from half way around the world, look forward to a different kind of festival – Durga Puja. The quintessential Bengali obsession of celebrating the Puja is as strong here as any other place in the world.
The greater Bay area is where you would find the Golden Gate Bridge and Gay movement, the highest concentration of computer geeks anywhere in the world and the a treasured collection of Ray's original films at the University of California at Santa Cruz. A sizeable number of Bengalis call this place home, living out the American Dream in this hotbed of technology, freedom and creative thought.
At the time of writing, most resident Bengalis are likely to show up at one of the four Durga Pujas in the area. Four Pujas, you might wonder – and ascribe it to the infamous Bengali inability not to get along in a team. There is an upside to this apparent discord, in the options available to the pandal hoppers (and believe me, we do have the kind here too). So if you are booked with your daughter's soccer practice (all the girls appear to play soccer nowadays) on this Saturday and will not be able to make the anjali - try the one at Prabasi's next Saturday. And if you are musically inclined, and simply cannot take profusion of the Bangla band music that is taking over the scene – don’t go to the Chandrabindoo concert this Sunday and try the Bollywood night at Sanskrit’s next Sunday.
One of the contentious issues between the groups is the issue of timing - the "Panjees" were not really written keeping time zones and datelines in mind. So if "Shosti" happens to be at 4 PM Wednesday according to the Indian time – how do you do it living in the pacific time zone where it is 03:30 AM Tuesday night. Some have solved the problem by scheduling the Puja over the two days of that great American getaway - the "Weekend". Keep in mind that the great G.W Bush has not declared a "Dashami'r chooti" yet, but we are told that some enterprising ones are working on the maniac. Others claiming to be sticklers of tradition are actually accounting for the time differences and organizing their offerings on the actual calendar days prescribed by that great book (the Panjee - if you missed my train of thought).
Most other things though, remain the same.
You have the untiring organizers - putting in the hours to acquire the idols, stage decoration and management, sending the email invitations out, hounding the Indian grocers for sponsorship funds, and working up a grand crescendo of dhonoochi nach the end. The majority though are the numerous pandalhoppers – who show up on almost all days at all four locations hoping to catch a glimpse of the goddess, the gliteratti and the Junta. Some come for Anjali, some to support a friend that is performing – while some with the hope of to find friends that may be in the area. It is also the few times in the year when the women would show off their finest “Taant” – making sure that they are not seen to be wearing the same one at two different pandals. The metrosexual Bengali man has now taken after the Hrithik’s, or our own Rituporno – and is often seen sporting the long version of the Panjanbee with the “Chooni” thrown in. And in keeping with the other indomitable spirit of “adda” – continues to wax eloquence on the need to invest in the real estate in Rajarhat despite the fact that the only real estate the dude may have known is his inheritance in New Alipore.
Over the free khichuri for lunch, reminiscing with an old friend about how nice it was to drive through the VIP road before Salt Lake happened, slamming the leftist government back home, sitting through another rendition of “Chitrangada” and falling in love with Tagore all over again – Durga Puja continues to enthrall another generation of Bengalis far away from home.
Related Link:
http://prabasi.org/Main/www_prabasi_org.html
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