Today is Maha Ashtami, the eighth day of the nine nights festival, the later of which is worshiped as Durga Puja.
This day carries a very special memory in itself; not just that I hail from Gujarat, the land of Garba and Dandiya but because of the visits to multiple temples in our vicinity. I am not much of a religious person but gladly accompanied my grandmother(amma) and mother(maa) to wherever they would take me. The chief motive, of course, being delicious food. Maha Ashtami is one such occasion wherein we three would book an auto, visit three temples and be back having enjoyed the food.
Our first halt would be the home of an old, devoted and graceful lady who is popular by the name of Mataji. They have a beautiful temple set up inside their home and many devotees come to visit it. Mataji and her family maintain the temple and observe festivities every year. The most popular being Durga Ashtami where a havan is organised with free food served to anyone who visits their place. Our family has closer ties with theirs and so it became a norm to visit them on Maha Ashtami.
The second stop would be Bhaiyaji's (looks like our God lies in familial ties). I don't know much about the history of this place but recall visiting this since I was a little child. The caretaker of this temple was referred to as Bhaiyaji meaning 'elder brother'. My grandma knew him very well and so I'd get extra sweets from him every time. He passed away a long time ago. I was(and still am) always captivated by the idols of the three goddess (Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi) there. They also had a havan every year.
The last point would be the pandal set up by the Bengali Association of our area. Every year we used to visit the pandal and check if it has anything new added, pray and then enjoy the food from local stalls there. This was my favourite part undeniably.
As I look back this year, there is no Bhaiyaji, Mataji is ill, my grandmother has left us for the heavenly abode and I am in Singapore. Tonight on call, maa felt a little disappointed and a lot lonely. The neighbours helped her out though. They had a havan at home followed by dinner. Maa did attend it but couldn't help reflecting back, I just wish to be there. And more importantly, Amma to be there for she was the one with the greatest enthusiasm and energy.
For me, these two ladies are my goddesses of Ashtami and I just pray that just like Goddess Durga is immersed in water only to return next year, Amma returns the next year. But it won't be possible. So I am all devoted to Maa for now I want every day spent with her to be nothing less than an Ashtami.
This day carries a very special memory in itself; not just that I hail from Gujarat, the land of Garba and Dandiya but because of the visits to multiple temples in our vicinity. I am not much of a religious person but gladly accompanied my grandmother(amma) and mother(maa) to wherever they would take me. The chief motive, of course, being delicious food. Maha Ashtami is one such occasion wherein we three would book an auto, visit three temples and be back having enjoyed the food.
Our first halt would be the home of an old, devoted and graceful lady who is popular by the name of Mataji. They have a beautiful temple set up inside their home and many devotees come to visit it. Mataji and her family maintain the temple and observe festivities every year. The most popular being Durga Ashtami where a havan is organised with free food served to anyone who visits their place. Our family has closer ties with theirs and so it became a norm to visit them on Maha Ashtami.
The second stop would be Bhaiyaji's (looks like our God lies in familial ties). I don't know much about the history of this place but recall visiting this since I was a little child. The caretaker of this temple was referred to as Bhaiyaji meaning 'elder brother'. My grandma knew him very well and so I'd get extra sweets from him every time. He passed away a long time ago. I was(and still am) always captivated by the idols of the three goddess (Durga, Saraswati and Lakshmi) there. They also had a havan every year.
The last point would be the pandal set up by the Bengali Association of our area. Every year we used to visit the pandal and check if it has anything new added, pray and then enjoy the food from local stalls there. This was my favourite part undeniably.
As I look back this year, there is no Bhaiyaji, Mataji is ill, my grandmother has left us for the heavenly abode and I am in Singapore. Tonight on call, maa felt a little disappointed and a lot lonely. The neighbours helped her out though. They had a havan at home followed by dinner. Maa did attend it but couldn't help reflecting back, I just wish to be there. And more importantly, Amma to be there for she was the one with the greatest enthusiasm and energy.
For me, these two ladies are my goddesses of Ashtami and I just pray that just like Goddess Durga is immersed in water only to return next year, Amma returns the next year. But it won't be possible. So I am all devoted to Maa for now I want every day spent with her to be nothing less than an Ashtami.
