Abhaya

Pujo, Durga Pujo, is Bengal’s biggest cultural and religious celebration. Panchami to Dashami is 5 days filled with festivities eagerly awaited by all Bengalis across the globe. Being born and raised in a typical Bengali household and having grown up in Kolkata, Pujo marks a week of celebrations and good food for me. As children, we used to wait all year long for these five days. Pujo meant new clothes, good food, unlimited playtime, and “thakur dekha” (going around different pandals to see the Maa Durga’s idol). During Puja, we would gather at my grandparents’ house where our otherwise nuclear families would seamlessly integrate into a giant joint family. My father and uncles would take over the kitchen and household chores so that the women could take part in the festivities and enjoy. In fact, whenever there were any celebrations in the house or during weekends, the men took over the kitchen and my father’s eldest brother, my Jeu, was assigned the job of looking after all the children in the house. Jeu would feed us, bathe us, tell us stories, and take us out to nearby pandals. We never felt anything lacking in the caregiving process. Men and women equally participated in all household assignments.