The last day of pujas..

After a late night of pandal hopping, I managed to get up early and decided to attend the Sindoor Khela event of one of the very old zamindari houses of Bengal, called Rajbati. We reached there just on time, before the event could start. That place seems to witness a lot of media coverage every year, that probably involves a bit of monitoring, adding up to being somewhat commercial. Since this was our first time experience, we were glad that we could make there in the morning and be a part of the ritual.
In the evening, as D had decided to go for Durga immersion, I chose to go for yet another puja at some distant relative's house, who have been celebrating puja for over one and half centuries now. On reaching there, the dhakis were up in form, where as the idol of Durga was brought in the center of the courtyard with preparations being done for her to leave. Every moment of the ritual was looked with curiosity. The women of that house were dressed in their ancestral bengali style, which looked really traditional. Some were engorssed in preparing the puja thali for the baran ceremony while the others were simply chatting and laughing aloud, then there were also a few who were just being there doing nothing much, waiting to participate in the baran and sindoor khela ceremony. In general, there was an air of freeness here, unlike the one we visited earlier in the morning. It was fascinating to know that until the day of India's independence, the women of the house practised an age old pardah system, those who were prohibited to be a common part of the society then. But are now a part of all the social events, rather much more than ever before.
It was incredible to also know that the idols were being created in their courtyard, by the artists who are descendants of the same family. And with this one can just imagine the kind of bond they would share.
The members of the family were very warm and welcoming. Especially the women here are noticeably filled with praises for anything, and can make any outsider feel that nothing else can be better. That's again some art as well!

The pujas end here in enjoyment. Next time, whenever we plan to be here during pujas, we will not miss coming back to where it ended.