Ever since we were kids, we would dread the months of Sept-Oct. The reason was that in the month of Ashwin, 15 days of Shraadh were observed followed by nine days of Navratri.
The intention wasn't to offend our ancestors but we simply couldn't digest the fact that we were not allowed to have onion and garlic during those days. Of course the delicious poori kachauri and kheer would be there but that was limited to just a couple of days in the entire dry spell of 22 days! Imagine us poor little kids, who had absolutely no clue as to why we had to suffer to please the ancestors? We tried to reason it out with our parents that our beloved ancestors would have no issues if we ate onions and garlic during those day. After all how could an insignificant thing as this, possibly offend the ancestors.....but then being born in a Brahmin family, most of the times, beliefs prevail above all sort of reasoning. Since we could do nothing, we would then wait for the time when the dry spell would end so that we could savour food with the distinct flavour of onion and garlic.
Now I see a bigger problem. I see people cribbing about not being able to have non vegetarian food. In case they are at their homes, it is quite understandable but what happens when they are living far away from their native place. There isn't anyone to judge them and they can freely indulge but then something stops them....na...na....its not the pricking conscience. On the contrary, it is fear.....fear of what you may ask? Well.....the fear of not being able to get fresh stock of food. Since there is an extreme shortage of demand during this period, most of the restaurants serving non-veg have stale stuff to offer.
So what comes to the rescue of the die-hard non-vegetarian fans at such a time? The Bengali pandals during Durga Pujo are a no-veg lover's paradise! I've seen so many friends go pandal hopping during these days and making the most out of this splendid time.
India is simply an amazing country...it's like multiple countries within one country. After every few kilometers, languages change, attires change, customs change...its all so diverse and the beauty of it is that we all try to embrace these differences in full spirit. So in one place, where eating non-veg is considered a sin during these days, in the other place it is an integral part of the festivities.
So cheers to the constant ray of hope that this diversity offers to the people around!
Pitru Paksha ko pranaam......Happy Navratri and Shubho Durga Pujo! May our ancestors and the Gods continue to bless us.
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