Why it's important for me to visit my hometown Silchar during Durga Pujo, shares senior journalist Satrajit Sen

This Kishore Kumar song perfectly sums up my feelings towards my hometown. Especially during the Durga Pujo. 

I have been living away from my hometown Silchar for the past 11 years now in this hustling concrete jungle called Delhi.

As a quintessential middle class educated syllheti youth, I chose it easy. Left my family behind and ventured out in quest of what I thought would be a better tomorrow. The first Durga Puja I was away from home and family was in 2007. I couldn’t take a leave as I had just joined that organisation. To be honest, I missed home but not a lot. There was a thought then that I will be doing something very different than my friends and family back at home.

A couple of years later, in 2009, I went back home for the pujos. I was overjoyed, not because I was traveling back home but because I was going on a flight, with tickets bought by my own money. I was overjoyed because I had the opportunity to show off my newly acquired Blackberry phone, my new Oakley sunglasses and many such earthly pleasures to my friends. I pleased my mind by saying that I am very different from my friends.

However, the bubble of my materialistic pleasures was just waiting to get burst.

The following years, 2010 to 2015 were dry in terms of my Pujo visit back home as I found some other reason to not be there. But these years made me realise the importance of being there at your native with your friends and family during Pujo.

With changing world, celebrating festivals is not limited to its core cause. With time the reason of celebrations are modified. In today’s world, people are too busy in their schedule to have time for others.

Durga Pujo for me is now a reason to enjoy, to mingle and to live few peaceful moments, away from stress and worries. For me, Pujo mends the broken hearts and binds relationships stronger. People have a fresh start, leaving behind mistakes and worries, with a new hope to look forward in life.

In those years of me not visiting my native during Pujo, I have realised that visiting Silchar is more important for me, primarly to take a break and reunite.

Durga Puja gives me an opportunity to take some days off work. I can sleep in, play games, travel, hang out with friends, and a lot of other things that I usually don’t get time for. So in this case, Pujo means taking a break from your job and enjoying few moments away from work.

Reunion because Pujo gives me an opportunity to keep in touch with friends and family. In these many years, I have made a list of things that I miss about my hometown. Apart from my friends and family, I miss Premtola’s puchka, Chowrongee’s adda, those pandal hopping, gorging food at Sreyoshi restaurant, the carefree Doshomi Dance. Durga Pujo gives me an opportunity to reunite with all these.

So yes, Pujo visit to home is very important for me every year. And this year also, I am off to Silchar. I hope the festival also reunites you all with things that you love.

Shubho Sharodiya, everyone!