A little bit of context before you begin reading this book review. I have recently enrolled for an MA in Philosophy at the University of Mumbai. Philosophy is something I have been getting interested in, over the past few years, as those of you who have been reading my blogs and Instagram posts would know. During the pandemic, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next, and this is what I eventually came up with. It has been a challenge, getting back into academics as a student at this age, especially in a subject I have no academic background in. However, it has also been very exciting, especially thanks to my wonderful classmates (who, surprisingly, are of all age-groups, including some quite near my own) and my teachers, who have been very supportive and understanding. How well I will do is something that remains to be seen, but so far, I am enjoying this new journey and look forward to where it leads. Now that you know the background , you probably get an idea of how
Dusshera or Vijayadasami - either way, the tenth day of Navaratri is one of celebration. This year, I have been less than enthusiastic about the festival, but surrounded as I am by the celebration in all its many hues, I have still managed to post (almost) every day! Wondering how to wind up my posts, I came across this sight, which inspired me to write....
"What is so special about this?" You may ask. These are just blown up Chhota Bheem balloons sold almost at every street corner. What struck me was that we saw these wherever we went - outside the Fine Arts Society, where we went to see the Bommai Kolu; outside the Bengali Durga Puja at Chembur Naka; at the Ramleela Mela at Gandhi Maidan, and even outside our very own Chheda Nagar Temple!!!
Chhota Bheem has nothing to do with the festival, and yet, he seems to be omnipresent across the celebrations, irrespective of region or language!
The impromptu stalls that turn up outside festival venues go a long way in making our celebrations what they are... And once again, I feel happy to live in a place where I get to see all this variety, and notice bits like this which make me smile!
these are pictures of the Gandhi Maidan right? What fanfare during Navratri! The ram leela and the Ravan dehan :)
ReplyDeleteI am finding so many chembur-ites Today in blogosphere! What Coincidence :)
Yes, they are from Gandhi Maidan, Divsi! Are you from Chembur too? Its interesting how the blogsphere throws interesting stuff at us!
DeleteYes! I stay very near Gandhi Maidan:)
ReplyDelete