Its me and my world

Today is Mahasaptami but my mind is a little confused and my heart is a little sad ! Being born a bengali, one can not but miss the unmistakeable puja spirit. It starts right from the onset of autumn and the different kinds of kinds of smells, sights and feelings that it brings along ! The "shiuli and kash phool", the newer blue sky, the bright soft golden sunshine , the smell of something enchanting in the air and the feel of the winter following. It is definitely different ! The word Pujo or worship brings to the mind at once the feeling of silence and sacredness and at the same time a feeling of newness and freshness. But over the last few years, I am struggling to find that fulfillment in the Durga Pujas at Kolkata. The hype and the hoopla is there , the incessant advertisements are there, the excitement of vacation is there . But where is the Puja ? Where is that silence and sacredness? Yes there are serpentine queues in front of the pandals , but where is the com

The trip to Madhya Pradesh by road This particular trip has been very very memorable for a number of reasons ... starting from the fact that I came back home the night before 12:30 from Bangalore (same day actually!) and was ready to hit the road on our Vento with assuring hubby dear on its wheels along with ma and bapi ,the next day morning 7:30 am ... Little did I know what a rich variety of experiences will befall me the next 8/9 days ! We had to reach Bandhavgarh tiger reserve as our first destination which was a 2 days journey by road with an intermediate night stop at the divine city of Varanasi. We reached around 9 PM to Varanasi after a very nice drive of around 600 kms with acceptable road conditions at most places and some nice scenery near the Hazaribagh and Dehri-on-Sone region. Through out the trip, Ma & Bapi kind of competed with each other in clicking photographs on their cameras and cell phones! It was amusing to watch them fidget with the devices and observe