Reminder from Nature
The sound of the shrieking alarm in his smartphone, literally made Fredrick to jump out of his bed. “How did I forget to turn off the alarm yesterday? It’s weekend!” he wondered! His next reaction within a fraction of second was to check on Ahiri’s side of bed which was of course empty since she went for the conference in Chicago. If she was here, the annoying alarm waking her on a Saturday morning would have made her furious. No alarm on weekends was the rule of the house.
Lazily, Fredrick left the bed after checking some news and social media feeds on his phone. Next in his agenda was to prepare a cup of tea and drink it with biscuits while reading the newspaper that is lying on his door step. His earlier addiction for coffee got slowly replaced with tea and biscuits, thanks to Ahiri. Like a typical Bengali she first taught him to relish the biscuit by dipping it in the tea and then drinking the tea later. Fredrick enjoys this thoroughly now.
A lot has changed since he married the beautiful and intellectual Bengali girl Ahiri, two years ago. Fredrick still remembers the day he met Ahiri at the party thrown by their common friend, David. He was not enjoying the party at all and looking for a chance to get out when his eyes fell on the cute Indian girl standing on the balcony alone, staring at the busy New York street. Fredrick never really had any Indian friend, but that day he gathered courage and went up to speak with her. They hit off quite well, with their common interests towards travelling, movies and books. There was no looking back since then. With Ahiri, the relation was different from the start itself, since she was different herself. They had lot to explore since they came from complete different backgrounds. He is from Kingsport, Tennessee and she from Kolkata, a city in India.
Although it was difficult at first, but they adjusted very well with each other’s cultural differences. At the beginning, Fredrick used to be amazed at the bonding that Ahiri shared with her parents and homeland. Unlike him, she never ignored or wanted to maintain a distance from her roots. He felt weird with the way Ahiri called her parents every single day across the continent just to update them about her day. He used to listen with awe how she was concerned not only about her parents but also about all other relatives and acquaintances. That kind of bonding was unheard to him. Fredrick loved the way Ahiri spoke about her childhood, her days in Kolkata. To her, Kolkata was the ultimate place of comfort, a place where one can easily ignore the negatives and focus only on the good things of life.
Victoria Memorial, Kolkata
From Ahiri, he learned a lot about India and Kolkata in particular. The city with her rich history and culture is a fantastic place for sure. After marriage, they visited Kolkata for throwing a reception party for Ahiri’s family. And that was when, all those descriptions about the city and her traditions came alive in front of his eyes. The city offers a marvellous blend of the old and the new. The age old history of the city blends harmoniously with the modern day changes. Fredrick loved Ahiri’s family. The way he was welcomed to her family was heart touching. Ahiri showed him all the famous tourist places of Kolkata. The Victoria Memorial, Calcutta Museum, Tagore House, Princep Ghat by the Ganges, everything. He still remembers the sparkle of joy in Ahiri’s eyes as she described the places with their history during their visit. The food, the culture and the grand festival of the city- the Durga Puja! Yes, he was lucky to experience everything in his first visit and it was then he completely fell in love with the city.
Fredrick was grateful that Ahiri shared her life with him. Otherwise how would he experience such joys. Every year they visited Kolkata during the Durga puja festival. He had learned from Ahiri, how even mother nature has her own way to celebrate the homecoming of goddess Durga. It was the typical clear blue sky with fragments of milky white clouds in it - the amazing indication from nature that happy days of festivity is coming soon. In Kolkata people lovingly call it “ Shorot’ er Akash” ( The sky of shorot { meaning autumn}). Blue sky, white clouds and pleasant autumn wind, Fredrick knows these very well now.
With Ahiri, he also now marks the festival days in their calendar. Homecoming is a different feeling altogether, he realised. He got it from Ahiri and it is growing ever since. It makes you forget all other worries of life and asks you to enjoy the moment. In spite of being an American, Fredrick has adopted the spirit of Durga puja so well.
Finishing his breakfast with cereals, Fredrick decided to go for a run in the New York central park. The day seemed perfect outside. The beautiful park is a respite for the otherwise bustling city. Fredrick started his run with short steps and suddenly looked at the sky above. Wow! It was that sky - the “Shorot er Akash”! Pristine blue sky sprinkled with pearl white clouds. The accompanying cool breeze was whispering in his ears - that time of the year is here! At once Fredrick was transported from the busy New York life to their laid back vacation days in Kolkata during the During Puja. The big pandals where the goddess resides during the five days of the festival, the beautiful lights that transforms the entire city to a fairy land, the food stalls with ravishing smell of chicken rolls and biriyani and the people. Yes, thousands of Bengalis, who come to the city from all parts of the world to celebrate Durga puja with family back home. His mind leaped in joy remembering those days.
Today, Fredrick realised how infectious the feeling of Durga Puja and homecoming is! It spreads to everyone who want to participate in the grand celebration irrespective of boundaries. The city draws you towards her. Even nature reminded him to plan their trip this year in the Central park! The world is small and everyone is interconnected with each other. Otherwise how would the New York sky celebrate the Durga pujo of Kolkata? The sky made him happy, the kind of happiness that only a Bengali will understand before the Durga pujo every year!