Durga Puja in Bangalore

Durga Puja is an annual festival that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. Durga Puja is widely celebrated across Indian, particularly in the states of Assam and West Bengal where it is a long annual holiday. Being born and brought up in Assam I can say confidently that just like the festival of Bihu, Durga puja is also secular in nature where people from all communities and walks of life participate.

In Bangalore, every year the Bengali and Assamese associations work really hard for the togetherness and warmness of Durga Puja. As far as the Assamese cultural and community welfare organizations are concerned, the Assam Association Bangalore (AAB) is quite renowned. AAB is the nodal organization which binds and unites the entire community present in Bangalore together through various social, cultural and community welfare activities and initiatives throughout the year. The association takes great pride in creating initiatives which showcases the rich, varied and proud cultural legacy and heritage of Assam and in the process create a bridge of respect, harmony and bonhomie between the people of Assam and Karnataka by drawing similarities and parallels.

Durga Puja celebration is such an extravaganza in Assam that I couldn’t avoid mentioning about it in my debut fiction novel Story of Tublu. Located for a major part in the northeast of the country, the narrative is full of anthropological details of lives of people in that part of India some of which are well-known and some less known.

An excerpt from Story of Tublu:

"Autumn has arrived and the town turned wonderful. The fragrance of jasmine and several wild blossoms drifted through the air from the rich flora all around. The weather was magnificent, and after the monsoon the tea garden looked refreshingly green and mesmeric. Maina arrived home and she looked different. She had become more beautiful and confident. In her new shoulder length haircut, she was looking more trendier than before. Tublu was delighted to see her, but he was also anxious and felt apprehensive about something.

Durga puja holidays are always the best in this part of the world. All the schools and colleges remain closed for almost a couple of weeks. The puja celebration is simply amazing. It’s a very significant socio-cultural event and people prepare puja pandals all over the town. It’s a fabulous time for everyone and particularly youngsters, to hang out with friends. People come out on the streets in the evening, wearing their best possible outfits to experience the carnival. That’s the time when young hearts usually collide, leading to some beautiful bonding."


This Autumn is going to be different. Well, I’m putting up a stall in the upcoming Durga puja fest organized by Assam Association Bangalore, where I will exhibit my debut book.

Venue:

Sir M Vishveshwaraya College Grounds Near Kemp Fort Mall,
Murugeshpalya, Old (HAL) Airport Road, Bangalore-560017

(18 - 22 October 2015)




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 

Sauna Slimming Belt

It was the year of 2005. That was the time when late night television advertisements like Telebrands and all, started evolving. Such advertisements were emerging as a major marketing platform for the various innovating products. Even though such products are under wide categories, but those related to health care are truly inspiring. Those were the happy days, and our happiness gradually started accumulating in our tummies. I joined gym quite a few times, but every time somehow my association with gym was kind of casual. Well, without commitment relationships don’t last long.

One night I came across Sauna Slimming Belt advertisement on TV. The product seemed to be unique that specialized in reducing the excessive body weight without following any strict exercising and diet routine. The commercial started with "Kya Aap Motapa Se Pareshan Hai?"

A beautiful and slim lady was demonstrating how to use the Sauna belt. It was very easy to use, just had to tie it around our waist,  plug on the attached wire and adjust the heat regulator. Sauna belt could also be applied to other body parts like the abdomen or thighs, and the generated heat sweat away unwanted fat. The pretty lady on the TV promised that the magical belt would show result in the very first use itself. She even demonstrated the same, before using the sauna belt she measured her waist, and after using for 30-40 minutes she measured her waist yet again. Wow! Bingo, sauna belt is truly magical.

Both I and my wife felt that Sauna slim belt was designed just for us, people who are little concerned about getting fat, but find it difficult to workout in gym. My wife was so convinced with the sauna belt that she decided to order one. Even though I was tempted but was in double mind, to order or not to order? Well, I was quite a pessimist kind of person right from childhood. In the meanwhile my wife already ordered the Sauna Slimming Belt on the phone, with cash on delivery. Immediately we received an SMS with the intimation that the invoice was sent to out email id. I was confused, but then felt spending 3500 rupees is fine, after all we both are going to be slim very soon.

The product arrived in the next few days. The first time experience with the sauna belt was simply amazing. It was a great feeling of getting slimmer all while sitting comfortably in a chair in front of the TV. Initially I was little anxious, also scared as the heat was driven by electricity, but I adjusted the heat regulator till the point I could bear. I felt that a portion of my tummy heated tremendously, kind of painful. The heat wasn’t evenly distributed. After using for about half an hour I loosened the belt. There was some sweat, and my tummy turned kind of red. My common sense suggested that it is not going to work. I wondered heating myself up this way is stupid. I was worried that the sauna belt is likely to cause blisters in my skin.

I always had some doubt about the sauna belt, and after using it I was confirmed that Sauna slimming belt is just a scam, a ridiculous gimmick of a product that would burn our skin. I’ve used it only once but my wife tried it for few more times, and ultimately she also realized the same. Later, after a few months when we came across similar advertisements on TV and came to know that they are selling sauna belts in just 800 rupees, we were really upset.

Last week, as I was searching for something, I found our memorable Sauna Slimming Belt in the wardrobe. Whatever, it was a nice feeling, I enjoyed some nostalgia brought on by our sauna belt.

Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.