Saraswati Puja

One of the many celebrations in Bengal of which every Bengali will feel nostalgic about, more so if one has to stay away from home. For a Bengali youth this puja brings with it the joy of school life. I hope I am not exaggerating..

Go back to your school days .. you were in 9th standard .. in charge of the school's organising committee .. bossing over the 'kids' and giving instructions to them .. how to decorate the classroom with papers and marbles .. how to decorate the room beside with all the drawings submitted in the last drawing competition .. starting from novish drawings of the first standard in one side of the room and gradually displaying more serious/sensible stuff by those coming from senior students. Then the 'alpana' for which the white material has to be made ready .. one of the 'didimonis' (madams) from the primary sections will draw it at the last moment. Then to decorate the gate with mango leaves and placing two 'ghats' with banana leaves (kolapata) in two corners of the door. Then to publish the wall-magazine. Organising the caterers for food and finally sending invitation cards to other schools.

This last topic used to be the most memorable one .. for a typical Boys' school particularly .. There would be some Girls' schools in the list of the schools to be invited. And class IX gives you the first chance to be senior enough to go to outside schools representing your schools.. and this would be one occasion (oportunity) when you would get a warm welcome to whichever school you go. And everytime the more seniors would make the list in such a way that they get to visit 'those' schools marked in the list. And you always repent that every time you are not selected among those who can go to 'special' schools and you always would have felt that it was conspiracy done to you deliberately. And then you would remain statisfied looking at the invitation cards that would come to your school from the others.

Looking back now .. those things / sentiments seem to be so silly .. but alas! Those days had the colours of their own and that's why they are still in my memory and that's why I could not help going down memory lane on the eve of the puja.

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Saraswati mahabhage bidye kamalolochone
Bishwarupe bishalakshi vidyang dehi namahstute!

Saraswatwai namahnityang bhadrakalwai namah namaha
Ved Vedanaga Vedanta Vidyasthanebhya ebacha!

Jaya jaya devi characharosare
Kuchojugo shobhita muktahare
Beena Pustaka ranjita haste
Bhagavati bharati devi namahstute!

sa me basatu jiwahayang beenapustakadharini
murariballave devi sarbashukla saraswati!

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