Arjun and me are in Calcutta this week. We'r down to celebrate Pujo. For a Bengali there is only one Pujo - Durga Pujo. The entire city is lit up for thes eten days. Its like a carnival in the city for 5 days.

Durga Ma also represents Shakti. According to Hindu mythology, a demon by the name of Mahishahura prayed to Lodr Shiva who pleased with his penance gave him a boon that he culd be killed by no man. Mahishashura then started his reign of terror. He even attacked the abode of the Gods.The Gods took refuge with Lord Brahma, who conspired with Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The three Gods prayed and from them was born a woman who had the power to kill Mahishashura - Durga. She was born from the energy of not only the Holy Trinity ( Brahma, Shiva & Vishnu), but also that of the other Gods. The Gods gifted her with weapons to kill Mahishashura. Bedecked with weapons and jewels, Durga was ready to wage battle. The demon army of Mahishashura was struck by down by Her. Her breath would replenish Her armies bringing back to life her dead soldiers. The demons were running helter skelter. At this point Mahishashura took on the form of a demonic buffalo and charged at Her soldiers. Durga ma threw her noose around him but Mahishashura assumed the form of a lion. When Durga Ma beheaded the lion, he again managed to escape taking the form of a man. He then tok off the shape of a wild elepahant, and finally went back to his form of a demonic buffalo. He hid himself in the mountains from where he hurled boulders at Durga with his horns. Durga drank the divine nectar, the gift of Kuber. She then pounced on Mahishasura, pushing him to the ground with her left leg. She grasped his head in one hand, pierced him with her sharp trident held in another, and with yet another of her ten hands she wielded her bright sword, beheading him. At last he fell dead, and the scattered surviving remnants of his once invincible army fled in terror.The battle raged for nine days and nine nights. The final day is the day of Bijoya Dashami - the 10th Day when Durga Ma was victorious. This is the story which every year we get to hear on All India radio at 4 am - the Mashishashura Mardini.

We celebrate this nine day period in Bengal also as the ten days when Durga Ma comes to Earth with her children - Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh & Kartik to visit her parents each year during the season of Sharad (Autmn).

Well that's just a little for now to tell you all why we celebrate Durga Pujo. The complete image of Goddess Durga represent destruction of evil and protection of good. She is a symbol of strength for women. She symbolises Shakti (Strength). A woman is capable of giving birth, of being gentle, loving and caring, of being a mother but dare anyone threaten her family and children, she can also become Durga - she can also rid this earth of evil.

HAPPY PUJAS FOLKS :)

Well heloo folks…I’v been away for Wordzzle for a while. Blame it on work. I just couldn’t find the time to think and one week became two and then three. I’m basically continuing where I left off:

The words this week are tattletale, homogeneous, flighty, cornucopia, plethora, militant, lovelorn, myopic, digitalized, mute.

The Old Horse seemed to be awfully flighty jumping from one topic to another with no connection whatsoever. It was hard keeping up with her. I was wondering how to tackle her and get her to answer the one question I had come so far to get the answer to.

“You know Young Man, you ought to be enjoying your days here in the Americas rather than sitting here with me. What is it that you here for? If you’re here to steal something, well there is nothing. If you had to kill me you would have done so by now. I am rather tired by now and though I appreciate company, I don’t really appreciate unannounced guests.” Well to be fair she did look a wee bit tired. Guess it was her age.

“Mam, actually I came here to ask you something. It is very important to me and my family.”

“Your family? How on earth would I know anything about your family?” She sounded awfully militant now. All her flightiness and alleged tiredness had vanished. Her eyes had taken on a sense of heightened awareness.

“Mam that Egyptian cruise you mentioned….?”

As usual never got to complete my sentence before the Old horse took over with one of her myriad topics from the cornucopia she held forth on easily.

“Are you a lovelorn little idiot or what? Speak up young man. I don’t have all the time in the world for you.”

A plethora of thoughts ran through my head as I tried to frame what I had to say.

Finally I decided to tackle her head on. “Mam, that Indian you met on your Egyptian cruise? Was his name Shamsher Singh?”

“Oh young man, how would I remember whom I met on a cruise so many years back?”

“Well Mam it would be very important for me to know if you do remember what his name was. I have come from India and tracked you through five states just to get the answer.”

“Do you think I’m a tattletale? It is bad manners to ask a lady about her previous relationships.”

“Well from what I have heard it wasn’t a relationship in the real sense of the term.”

“You have a very myopic understanding of the term relationship. You think only when a man and woman have an affair it is a relationship. Think beyond that young man.”

“Mam was his name Shamsher Singh? I am his grandson.”

“You are Sam’s grandson? Oh my….”

For a whole minute she was mute and then a tear rolled down her face.

“Mam please tell me, did he give you any papers on homogenous alloys. Please tell me it is very important. My entire family’s future depends on that.”

“He gave me something but it wasn’t papers. Told me to hang on to it and said his son would come get it from me. He never came and I have still hung on to it.”

She took out a chain from under her dress. It had a pendant kind of thing on it. She unhooked it and gave it to me.

I examined it. Well I’l be damned. My grandfather had digitalized the entire thing waaaaaaaay back in the Forties. Wow. Even I was speechless.

To be continued….