Aar daWsh din por-e pujo.
Tar mane, paanch din pore mahalaya, shokal chArte-te ghum theke uthe akashbani-r shei haunting tune ta. Aar aro haunting oi "matlo re bhuban, bajlo tomar alor benu". bochorer ai ekta din coffee allowed chilo..i wish, i really wish.
joy goswami ekbar likhechilo:
shorir anonde pure khak,
kal bhore ponchishe bosihakh"...
Economy of words, so powerful. Ei raate anonde pure khak howa, kal bhore mohaloya; eta ekta habit chilo, ekta obhyash. I wish again.
Narendrapur-e shokal charte-te uthe radio shonar dour kokhono hoyeni (block-er kone maharaj-er ghorer shamne, dining hall e worker ra, onek jayegate kintu sujog chhilo )...kintu shedin shokale prayer hall-e ekta lomba "oi giri nandini, nandito medini, bishwa birupini, nandanu te" hoto. Abaar shei shorir anonde pure khak. Dilipda, jituda-r ekta pet gaan chilo -- "dosh haate oi, dosh dike ma, choriye elo anondo, ghore ferar bajlo banshi, boichhe batash shumndo..anondo re, anondo" -- i could literally hear the banshi. Shedin amader usually monthly test-er last exam thakto. Seshob mathaye uthechhe...bari kokhon jabo....ar shai bari ferar pothe raater kolkata...raastar mor-e mor-e pandel bandha hoye gechhe...jeno ek ekta jomat bandha anondo.
deshantori chele meye,
mayer kole elo dheye,
shishir nir-e elo neye,
snigdho okal boshonto,
anondo re, anondo"
.... deshantori chhele, huhh...i wish, i sincerely wish.
Shebar, 1997 er pujo. Shei usual madox square-e shobai meet korechhi. Atri (chasha), arunabha onek deri kore elo. Partha (traang) sharadin-er jonno esechilo, raate bari firbe bolchhe. Anindya (Gupi) aar aami chesta chalachhi oke kono bhabe atke rakhar. Shara raat theke kalke shokal shokal kete porlai to holo. Naa, Jagulia naki onek beshi cool. Chasha-o bolchhe thakte parbe na--borojor raat barota. Beriye pora jak tahole. Ekta anonde shorir ta purchhe...this collective happiness...pujor lighting e notun jama gulo kemon adbhut onnorokom dekhaye. Moloy bolchhe bari firbe. trang-ke kichhutei raji korano jachhe na. Gupi ekhon phik phik kore haschhe. Thik achhe, porer bochor ar jholash na. Porer bochor hobe; aschhe bochor abar hobe....
I wish i knew that was going to be my last pujo till date, ten years...i wish, i wish from the depth of my soul.
Aamar mayer mukher haashi,
sharat aalor kiron raashi
komol bone uthchhe bhashi,
mayer gayer shugondho,
anondo re, anondo
"shubho pujo" to all of you...
Author: Saikat (Ghota) Ghosh is a 1993 madhyamik alumnus, presently doing his Post Doctorate in MIT, USA.
