August is a month of festivals for India which means holidays, long weekends, celebrations and good food!! The festivities started this month with Raksha Bandhan. Shops gaily decked up were selling “Rakhis” of all possible shapes, sizes and colours! From the thinnest threads to chunky, gaudy and massive ones shaped as flowers, dolls, kites, fruits- the innovative variety was endless! Hennaed hands of sisters were ready to deck up their brothers’ hands with the colourful ornaments. The ceremony is followed by sumptuous lunches/dinner and tempting gifts from the brothers to the sisters who thank them for protecting them. A very prominent festival which brings together extended families for a grand reunion once a year. One of my favourite festivals, I always look forward to getting together with my cousin (one of the few left in India! Rest have all become NRIs!)
The most important date in the Indian calendar, 15th August, the birthday of free India fell the following week after Raksha Bandhan. Tricolours dotting market places, school, office and government buildings, aroused the patriotic streak in people well in advance! Food chains, retail and online stores went berserk, enticing consumers with jaw- dropping discounts, deals to die for and bundled benefits which were too good to resist! Pockets were half empty and there was still a 4 - day weekend to enjoy. Travel companies fell over each other to enamour the ardent travellers with irresistible deals for short vacations out of Delhi. Hotels and resorts were sold out 3 months in advance and the roads in Delhi were half empty after 12th of August! A bright,hot sun had risen from the early hours of the morning, beating down on the children and adults of all age groups, gathered across CR Park to unfurl the national flag and sing the national anthem, but could not diminish their enthusiasm! The benevolent green canopies lining the parks and grounds of the colony, shaded the revellers, with their cool breeze. What a beautiful sight it was – the Tricolour fluttering proudly in the balmy morning in various parks and grounds with the people singing their hearts out, dressed in traditional attire reflecting the true Indian spirit!
14th August was Janmashtami – temples were decked up with lights and jhankis depicting the birth of Lord Krishna. Appetising aroma of freshly made sweets with desi ghee filled the atmosphere. Children were busy decorating the jhankis with small and cute dolls of mata Yasoda, father Vasudev and creating mountains, rivers and the dark cell where Lord Krishna was born, with their skilled hands and immense creativity! People were awake throughout the night to worship their favourite Krishna’s birth and savour the mouth - watering prasad of gujia, “Taler bora” – fried fritters made of sugar palm, undoubtedly one of the most laborious but delectable confectionaries from a Bengali kitchen. Kali Mandir looked like a newly-wed bride, completely bedecked in light garlands from top to bottom! Devotees offered puja throughout the night till the wee hours of the next morning.
A long weekend well spent!!
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