The Best of Worlds?

Dear R

I think you have the best of most worlds as far as Navratri is concerned.

Our house is one of those examples of what you can call a melting pot of different cultures put together.

You get to know of Garbas like ‘pankhida rey udi jajo pavagadh rey’ thanks to a Garba-crazy mom..and you get to know that there is a culture of keeping dolls on steps and making lovely tasty sundals thanks to your roots..

and then of course thanks to the Bong connection that your father has, you got to taste the absolutely superb bhog at the Durga Puja we went to on Saptami..

I doubt many children in the world can enjoy such a culturally rich environment.

For someone who claims not to be religious, your Amma is trying hard to introduce you to various aspects of celebrations.

Our showcase currently adorns the lovely small dolls which your baroda thatha got from Iran just to give you a flavor of Golu. Funny how dolls from Iran fall into the Golu category. And then Amma gets up to make one sundal everyday for you. Though you never eat it. But hey, give me some points for trying eh? and then how Amma tries to put Kolam everyday just outside the door. Yesterday, you told me that the Kolam I had put was small but nice. Thank you da, you seem to be the only one to notice. The other member of our household is often lost in thoughts while getting in and out of the house.

And then the day, you had Garba at your daycare. Remember how Amma jumped in to do a few steps and all you kids were laughing at me. But I am glad there is a sense of rhythm you have when you are doing Garba. Very important da, to have that…one of the things I dream about once in a while is doing Garba with you. I know its very far fetched and by the time you are a teen, you would rather NOT have me around you, but one advantage of being a mother is that we can always dream on eh? Such stuff is what makes motherhood worth it na

and then when Appa took us to the Durga Puja on Sunday evening, we had a mini lesson on Durga umachi na..

and  you want to know why Durga umachi has birthday for 9 days, but Krishna umachi only for 1 day..well, some advantage these Goddesses have na

and then Appa proved to be such a typical engineer when he tried to explain to you how all Goddesses come from the ‘same base’ *Rolling eyes*

Same base – I mean, how can you even think of a word like that to describe the Goddess..though you did very intellectually hmmmm to that explanation..well its between you and Appa darling 🙂

and then we had this conversation, which you asked me so enthusiastically, but somehow we couldnt continue it. Not because you didnt have more questions, but because your Amma ran out of answers da.

R: Toh Amma, agar durga ne mahisasur ko maar diya, toh usse kya hua
RM: Errr…the evil person is supposed to go away and things will become happy
R: Toh Amma, sab duniya mein evil is gone now, since Durga umachi (Bhagwan) is killofying all bad people?
RM: well, ah well

and then the fact that we live in Bombay, opens you to a new culture of wearing a colour on each day of Navratri. When you go slightly older, you will start enjoying this. AS you step out, you see a wave of red on one day, or a sea of green on another. You will know that a red can have millions of shades to it and the blue of the sky is so different from the blue of the water which is so different from the royal blue on that aunty’s saree. You will see women dressed in similar colours making you wonder if you reached a different world. and trust me, women in Bombay are the most enthused I have seen. Its a different kind of a celebration with colours darling.

Remember baby, how ever you celebrate Navratri, just do it with loads of fun. Its a festival when the good triumphs over the evil and its a festival that a Goddess who personifies strength and brains and goodness is celebrated. Its a festival where you can let your hair down any part of India you are in, and its a festival where its the easiest to socialise. Its a festival where you get the best of foods and its a festival where you can celebrate the joy of being human.

Its a festival, I hope, you enjoy to the fullest in whatever land you are in.

I hope in our house, you grow up to be tolerant to all religions, respect other people’s perspective and always remember that God is who you want him/her to be. I hope you realise that religion is not about following rituals but religion is what you make of it personally.I hope you realise that whichever way or manner you celebrate any festival, the bottomline is love, respect for the other person’s view and of course fun and food 🙂

Loads of love
Amma

PS – No, you are not getting any new clips to match with that Chaniya choli. sorry!

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On a completely different note (well not too different) Saffrontree’s annual fest of Crocus starts today  *Insert high excitement* super great interviews, awesome reviews and this one is based on Math and Science, so I am sure it will be really interesting!

and they are also having a book drive..go check it out and do contribute if you can.