Am thinking of covering a bit more of Durga Puja stuff this year than general; because I do feel that people might be interested in it. Beyond lo-res short videos too and a few photographs. That is, if I / anyone can even walk in CR Park during that time as there’s hardly any place left to walk in most cases. One week to go, with the Mahalaya happening today. Frankly, I don’t even know what it’s about apart from the fact that corporate fat cats are ready to pay top dollar for sponsorship rights during live telecasts done at the crack of dawn. Translates into mom getting up bleary-eyed at 5am and watching the aforementioned live telecasts being broadcast from multiple paras in Kolkata. More information about the Mahalaya online? Hmm, should make interesting reading. Clueless-Bong-Writing-About-Some-Event-He-Doesn’t-Really-Quite-Get.
Categories
15 replies on “Countdown for the 2008 Durga Puja begins”
Er, your Flickr link doesn’t seem to work.
When exactly are the pujas beginning?
Um, isn’t the Mahalaya thing exactly the same story? So what’s new about watching it every year round? I mean, there isn’t ANYthing appetizing about watching garishly made-up actors and actresses dance around among a load of horrible special effects.
(I didn’t realize they were showing that today until I woke up for school and found it playing on the TV. :/ )
@Espera: Eh, Flickr link not working? :-s Just check right now, does work. The page uses Flash…so dunno, maybe that’s the issue.
You really won’t believe the sort of cheesy effects most Bong shows have (I happen to catch glimpses of them if I walk into the drawing room perchance; of course, I stick my head into a sand pit to save my sanity as soon as I see it’s a Bong show.) During the Puja, most local cable networks around CR Park also carry live feeds from multiple locations, and the sort of effects they use (multiple picture-in-picture…argh!) would make even Ekta Kapoor blush.
@Espera: Oh, it starts today (30th September). I think. I mean, ‘technically’. But right now everything is low-key, the main celebrations start 3-4 days before Dusshera.
@ Ankur – Could you just elaborate as to what exactly “Mahalaya” is? – Is it the first day of the 10-day long Durja Pujo celebrations?
Happy Mahalaya to all!
@Prateek: Yes, Mahalaya marks the beginning of the 10 day Durga Pujo celebrations. Technically, that is, because in some cases even most Pujo pandals don’t get properly set up until the 6th day. That’s when the main celebrations start. The Mahalaya is held at dawn on beginning of the 10 day period, and is marked by cultural programs being held of people singing songs and stuff.
Tell me, why would you want to watch such Bong shows? (No, I know YOU wouldn’t. But why would ANYONE? Because if they didn’t watch them, they wouldn’t have existed, right?)
Apne ghar mein nobody really watches them. TV usually means the news or some movie. But yeah, sometimes you do come across them while channel-surfing and if the special effects are as bad as on some of the other regional language channels, well … Ekta Kapoor doesn’t seem so bad.
You are right. The problem with Flickr (or not) is probably cuz I don’t have Flash. Sigh. I thought I did. Must have expired.
@Espera: Flash ‘expired’? Anyway, try out this link – http://www.flickr.com/photos/greatquizzard/tags/thetenavatarsofgoddessdurga/ – this one doesn’t need Flash to view the slideshow.
I think the reason those crazy special effects in those shows exist is a) because the content they’re showing can get a tad boring at times (more on THAT in some other post on the music concerts during Durga Pujo) and b) the people who edit the shows learned editing in the 80s and still think that constant zoom in-zoom out is a neat idea.
That’s funny.
The slideshow application from that link worked (i.e., when I did View As Slideshow from the pics in that link).
Er, did anyone tell you, you look like a typical Bong? Well, you do. Noticeably enough.
@Espera: I do? Oh yes, I do. I’ve got that one quite a few times. Surprising thing, because in most other things my Bong-ness is generally suspect. I grew up in Delhi, my family’s basically been in Delhi for the past few decades, and (“horror of horrors”, according to my relatives), I’m a vegetarian.