Courtesy a gang of friends chock-a-block with delhi's 'bhadralok'...Durga Puja nights have always meant an amazing array of dazzling pandals, maddening crowds, joyous festivity and great music...
being in delhi after years of missing the pujo...was quite looking forward to being a part of the celebrations this time around....made a mental list of all the familiar haunts i wanted to get back to....
start with CR Park of course...move on to Sector-8 RKP...round off with Janakpuri....
the dazzle was there...the pandals have become more imposing...the idols are prettier...everything just the way i remembered it..and better....
except for the crowds...missing....conspicously missing....
"bombs ka darr hai beta"..a friends dad tells me...bahut kam log bahar aa rahe hain....
shaken a bit...i drift towards the people milling about....love all these conversations you can sit around and join into...love the mix of all kinds of people who come and spend their time here...
my fondest memories remain of me and a sikh friend of mine spending a considerable amount of time pandal hopping, eyecandy spotting and chatting up people...
caught whiffs of conversation going on...
"these ______, its all their fault....look at the terror they are spreading..."
"orissa mein jo hua...wo ek tarah se sahi hi tha...apne kitne logon ko convert kiya hai unhone"
"Their problem is their upbringing actually...they dont really think like us...alag hain bahut..."
agitated faces...and animated discussions...
"one off?" i ask my friend as we discuss the topic..." not really ...havent you noticed...a lot of conversations steer this way nowadays..."
the memories i take back at this bijoya are disturbing...
starkly thinner crowds...in fact the gun toting policemen seemed to be much more prominent, an air of impending trouble....and a very visible 'us versus them' theme to the celebrations....
maybe its just me....but at least for me....
Certainly....not the city i grew up in....not even close to it....
1 comment:
well, i kept on rubbing my fingertips for a while before starting to write, in fact i still dont have the exact comment to type, but it's just to tell you that it was really nice..
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