Bhaswati Ghosh is a true Bong when it comes to planning her Durga Puja. While the author-translator is yet to experience the festivities in Kolkata, her probashi memories from New Delhi will be bringing her back to India this year too. My Kolkata got into a candid chat with the wordsmith about her pujo fashion, Durga Puja memories that brighten her heart, what will be on her plate, and more.
My Kolkata: Do you usually spend Durga Puja in Kolkata? Where will you be this year?
Bhaswati Ghosh: This answer might disappoint, but I am yet to experience Durga Puja in Kolkata. I was born and raised in Delhi. From the age of 10, I have known Chittaranjan Park in Delhi — sometimes called ‘mini Kolkata’ because of its predominantly Bengali population — as home. We have nearly a dozen pujos in Chitto Park or C. R Park (other monikers for my beloved paara), and this year, that’s where I’m planning to be. Among family, friends and friends who feel like family.
Any special outfit(s) for Puja this year?
Sari, sari, sari, all the way this year. Saris that I’ve been accumulating every year, thanks to my mother’s loving picks that she keeps ready for her probashi daughter. These are selected with such thoughtfulness that they always make me feel special when I wear them. This year’s picks includes a gerua batik silk Ma bought from her visit to Amar Kutir in Santiniketan a few years ago, an off-white and navy blue faux silk that I bought from a sari mela I accompanied Ma to in Chitto Park, and a couple of surprises from Ma.
'Pujor bhog' with 'khichuri' is one of Bhaswati's favourite Puja-time food
Is there a special event or tradition that you follow during Durga Puja?
Nothing special, other than going for pushpanjali without having ingested anything (other than cha) and enjoying the prasad at the pandal. Then going for pandal hopping, eating pujor bhog (khichuri, labra, chutney, payesh) for lunch, enjoying cultural shows in the evening, just having the merriest time with family and friends.
Do you have a special memory associated with Durga Puja in Kolkata or elsewhere?
Too many to recall. Among the best ones are always the unexpected reunions that happen in pujo pandals. In 2018, the last time I spent Durga Puja in C. R. Park, I got a call quite late in the evening from a school friend. She currently lives in Mumbai, but was visiting Delhi at the time and happened to be close to my paara pujo. She came to the pandal within minutes with her family, and at 11 at night, I took them to our house, barely a few steps away, to have them meet my mother. That remains a special memory for me as we were meeting after two and a half decades — the first time since we passed out of school. We all had tea at that hour, laughing over stories of school.
What is your favourite Durga Puja-time food?
Again, too many to list here, but the pujor bhog I mentioned earlier and the legendary mutton biryani and shami kababs of Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate pujo pandal have to top the list.
One power of Durga you wish you had and why?
To be a friend to everyone like she is in her sarbojanin approachability, and to have the opportunity to visit my mother every year, like she’s able to.
