It is not hyperbole to say that my four hours at this friends house were some of the most unique four hours of my entire life. The streets in her neighborhood are very narrow, and the entrance to their home is arched and dark. You then walk into an open courtyard in which my entire home's footprint would fit! This home was quite famous, not only for their long standing Puja but also because the most famous West Bengali, Tagore Rabindranath, a Nobel prize writer, had visited his nephew in the house when he owned it in the late 1800s.
Three families of the extended family call the mansion home, filling only part of the rooms. We were shown into the calling room, where in older times the men would greet guests and the women would sit behind screens, only being able to listen to the conversation. Just spending time in this room was like being in a museum - there were 200 year old, seven foot high marble candle stands in the corners, and a guilded table in front of a massive mirror
They have 250-300 guests arrive during each of the four days of Puja, feeding close to 2000 people, counting family members, by the time the festival is through, with two sets of cooks in the kitchen round the clock, preparing for the next day. I had a new favorite food there, though I can't remember its name. It's a stuffed, gourd-like vegetable. The stuffing is a mixture of paneer, graham flour, almond paste, crushed walnuts, a little sugar & just a touch of cinnamon. The gourds are then roasted & cooked in a light milk custard for several hours, mixing all the flavors and softening the outside shell of the gourd so it's edible. Unfortunately the picture doesn't do them any justice. They are served with a piquant chutney with poppy seeds & small pieces of fruit. Absolutely wonderful!
Yet, even after all that, the Puja had more to share. The courtyard had a Puja site built into it permanently & the family idols had been on display there every year. Slowly, as the family combined their earnings, grew more wealthy & felt blessed, they would buy a jewel, or pendant or earring to add to the idols when they were recreated each year and put on display for four days. The crowns, then, and necklaces and rings and head bindi dots....everything that looks like gems & gold on the idols were actually gems and gold - not just paper mache or tin like the other idols. The family has five full time dobermans that patrol the grounds at night. I stood two feet away from so much priceless jewelry and chatted with folks as if we did it all the time!
There's always a mouse at Ganesh's feet...this one had a solid gold toe ring on!
Durja's head piece alone must've been worth a fortune. It was over two feet high, with the side pieces nearly as wide. That's an emerald in the middle, with diamonds on either side. She wears a ruby bindi dot on her forehead that was larger than my thumbnail! I think there were nine pendants around her neck, the longest being over ten feet in length & from each hung a massive broach or design at least as large as my fist. The jewels are carefully placed on the idol as soon as she arrives, with new pieces added most years by either family members living in the States who cannot attend or by someone who has had a child or a good year in business.
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