Durga Puja in Bay Area

Yesterday evening I made a trip with Delip to the Durga Puja festivals being celebrated at the Sunnyvale temple in South Bay Area. We heard the sound of the Dhols (or drums) from a distant parking lot and wondered about the people living around the temple area. The sound of Drums/Dhols somehow reminded me of the energy of Durga Puja celebrations in India, specifically in West Bengal, where I lived for a majority of my life. When we arrived at the temple, we thought we were seeing a microcosm of Durga Puja celebrations in India – Kids were running around in new sparkly clothes and women were all dressed up in their newest saris and accessories. Inside a huge makeshift tent, there were long queues at the food stalls (as if people couldn’t have enough food), and lots of other stalls trying to sell something or the other, whether it was mehndi tatto or Hanuman DVDs or shawls or Indian clothes. I even ran into some batch-mates from almost 13 yrs ago that I hadn’t met since graduating from college.

For us and my brother’s family, who had joined us at the temple, it was a quick trip and back on a weekday evening. But some people had been visiting the Pandal everyday since the past three days… such is the energy and devotion to Durga Puja amongst many members of the community, specifically Bengalis. I simply love their energy and enthusiasm for Durga Pujas. It is such a lively experience. I used to look forward to Pujas as a kid as it meant balloons, books, new clothes, going out with girlfriends and spending all my days at the Puja Pandal eating all that we could and being merry. While symbolically Durga Puja has a deeper meaning, and I am sure many people go there to pray and connect with their spiritual side, for me all it meant was three full days of being able to set aside your worries and just enjoying yourself in the present moment.