Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengali Hindus is here and the wee roads of Dimapur have already been clogged. The Bangalis are taking over the city for four days and Bengalis of all sorts are coming out of their hives to live a little before being dead again. The pretty women have had all their things ready to woo the city, while the men have had their eyes checked (if you know what I mean).
Here are 12 types of Bengalis that you are going to find this Puja in Dimapur.
1. The unimpressed.
These are the people who keep constantly complaining about how the Puja in Dimapur are not as impressive as other places. They are the people who have either come to Dimapur to spend their Puja holidays or are Dimapurians who in their previous years had been in a different city during the Puja. You need to stay away from them, especially if they had previously seen the Puja in Kolkata. They will make you regret the life you are living.
2. The gazers.
They are particularly found in groups, sitting in semi-circles inside the pandals, gazing at the womenfolk irrespective of age, caste, creed or colour. They are basically harmless but their stares can actually make the girls feel uncomfortable. Staring is their favourite pastime, and somehow strangely these are the people who keep the aura of Puja intact.
3. The agonists with sudden change.
The agonists don’t care about the Puja, but since all of their friends are out there enjoying the Puja, they play along. They never care to enter a temple throughout the year, because they are constantly confused about the existence of God, but then, during Puja, they get so enthusiast that they would fast and stand patiently for ‘onjoli’, sending their family and friends in emotional trauma.
4. The bench of judges.
They are the people who are only out there during the Puja to judge others. They judge the colours of the dresses others are wearing, the design, the makeup, boyfriends, husbands, wives and girlfriends of others. All they talk about are these things, thereby contributing immensely to the progress of pessimism in human civilization.
5. The superstitious.
They are critical characters. They will make everything complex with the genius level of superstations that they possess. For instance, they will drag to the ninth pandal just because it’s NOVOMI even if you know you cannot take it anymore and might get a heart attack after visiting the seventh pandal. Dare not argue with them, for you will never win.
6. The couple.
They are the most uninteresting aspect of the Puja, especially for the singles who cannot tolerate happiness of others. They are obsessed with each other and the guys often get so protective about their girlfriends that you will wonder if they are the only humans in the midst of demons. But the couples have been making plans for the Puja for months now and they should not be despised. Some are even taking the immense risk of revealing their relationships to public. They deserve respect.
7. The organizers.
They are the most vital part of the celebration, and yet everyone seems to have reasons to argue with them. They are seen running here and there is random directions, taking care of the generator, the music and making sure that everything goes on smoothly. Yet, they end up offending most of the chill-makers and the fights go on for months after the Puja.
8. The proud Bengalis.
Nah, they don’t wear trendy clothes or ridiculous hats with SWAG written over them in insane metallic paints. They are too proud of the Bengali tradition and will always be found wearing ‘panjabi’ or ‘kurta’ and polished leather sandals. These characters are mostly males and are soft spoken. They will sit quietly throughout the traditional songs and performances swinging their heads and would leave no chance to mention how culturally rich Bengalis are, which after some time becomes annoying.
9. The too cool to buy new clothes dads.
Almost all the Bengali fathers are like this. If you find one Bengali father wearing a new cloth during the Puja, it is because his children or his wife has bought it for him. They are too cool to buy new clothes after spending all their money on their families. They have no issue in wearing tattered discoloured shirts with buttons missing and go to the pandals, terrifying the youngsters and embarrassing their children.
10. The lazy guys.
They prefer to stay at home even if there is a riot outside. For them, Puja means holidays and they want to just lie on their bed, with the TVs on, mobiles in their hands and spend the entire time pretending to be dead. They face much harassment at home for their layback nature and ruining the culture of the Bangalis, but they are too lazy to do anything about it. They might even not be hearing what is being told about them because they are just too lost in their laziness.
11. The alcoholics.
Their favourite part of Puja is the Dashami. For non-Hindus reading this, Dashami is the day the idols are immersed. It is during this day that they gather around in nooks and corners, with bottles of liquors to laugh at life or to cry about it. If they can’t get liquors in here, they would adjust their busy schedule to make a trip to Lahorijan to get tipsy, because alcohol is important.
12. The terrified to touch feet guys
It is a tradition after the Puja is over that the younger ones should touch the feet of the elders to show them respect, and while many are okay with this part, there are some who are terrified at this aspect of the festival. They don’t enjoy this tradition though they have all the respect for their elders. And with technology getting advanced, people are now telling their far off family members over phone ‘DOSHOMIR PRONAM NIYEN’. For those who are already terrified of communicating with their relatives, imagine the horror of showing respect over the phone.