Monday Motivation: Puja and পেট পূজা (gorging)

Laxmi Puja Prasad

You might be tempted to question the source of motivation in a post about Festivals and Gorging, but in my opinion, there is no motivation greater than good food in this world. At least for me there isn't. I have gone to great lengths for good food in my life, but I shall not delve into that now.

Let me start with a disclaimer: the rites and rituals of a traditional Puja has never interested me. But that doesn't mean I have never prayed in my life. Even though I embraced the ideologies of my strictly atheist Father at a very young age, I was taught the value of respecting others' views and opinions.

And so, I remember praying when my first dog fell ill. Unfortunately, no one listened to a little boy crouching at a corner of his room, with tears in his eyes. From then on, the only times I prayed was to ask the Almighty not to take away a loved one, however, it seldom worked. Bitter and dejected, in my later years, I started praying to my own Gods - beautiful humans who were angels now. Yet, the charms of the Puja continued to entice me and the reason was simple.

Growing Up

Every Child grows up with the scent of the incense sticks, the fragrance of dhup dhuna, the sound of the bell, the humming of pachali and things of that sort. For me, the frequency of these were a little less than average, but it was what came after the puja that always enticed me.

The Bhog-er Khichuri was a delicacy that made us salivate from the morning, however, the Labra never looked too exciting. The fruits on display did call out to me, as did the naru, payesh, tokti and the various other sweets, but the main attraction of the day was the Chal-Kola.

This special dish was prepared by keeping raw rice submerged in water for a few hours and then adding banana and sugar or batasa to the drained rice. These were then mixed to a thick consistency. The whole process of the preparation was always closely followed by us kids and I have to admit that I do have a long record of stealing a handful whenever no one was paying attention.

And so my connection with Pet Puja continued well into my teens. Most of these experiences were gathered at my Ancestral home in Coochbehar, under the love of my Grand Mother and my Bommas (Aunties). Here my love for food was not only acknowledged, it was encouraged and I was pampered in depth during the course of my stay.

Later Years

Nothing lasts for ever and with time, the days spent at home on such occasions lessened. On the other hand, we grew up too and the world started to become a lot more complex. The love for Chal Kola remained unchanged, however, the favours and scents had altered with time. The taste of those mornings of yester years in the prasad got lost somewhere in my childhood itself.

But that did not stop me from relishing the delicacies that was associated with Puja. They say if you want something with the whole of your heart, the whole Universe plots to provide it to you. It works with food too and so my pet puja continued. However, the taste of those early morning spent at home still eluded me, and it was only recently that I understood the real reason for that.

That পেট পূজা associated with Puja had some special ingredients that are forever missing now. It had the warmth of my home, with a wholesome helping of family and friends, the right sprinkle of patience and the cherry of love, on top of the cake. But the real favour of those days came from my childhood, the innocence, the simplicity of life and the ability to enjoy without any distraction. Just like my childhood, it was impossible to get that taste back.

Present Times

Which brings us to the present times. Few months back, I was invited to my colleague's place for the occasion of Eid and we were welcomed with the choicest of fruits and snacks. There were nadu, murki, patisapta, puli pitha and what not. To make matters even better, the main course was a fabulous biriyani. We ate, talked and had a wonderful time. It was a festival, a holy occasion and food made the day rosier.

A glimpse of the starter on Eid

Just a couple of months later, Vishwakarma Puja arrived and that was the day that something changed. Understandably, this was a huge occasion at work and the arrangement were second to none.

As I relished the fourth helping of the gorgeous Khichri served for lunch, I realized that maybe, I had approached the entire thing wrong. Maybe the flavours of my Childhood were not supposed to come back, it was perhaps safer in my memories. Why not then, enjoy things as they come and make more memories? Why not ensure that the beauty of Puja and পেট পূজা remains constant?

And so I made a new rule in my life, to have a feast on every Puja or Festival and make every day memorable and worthwhile. So on Durga Puja, I brushed aside my shackles and devoured the choicest Ilish, some pretty prawns, mutton, chicken, sweets, no holds barred!

In the build up to Laxmi Puja, I was intensely involved in shopping, which made my family wonder if I was finally embracing religion. I pointed out that I was merely ensuring that we had a variety of ingredients for the prasad and assured them that it was still all about pet puja for me. Because we have just one life and since your ability to eat will diminish with time, we must ascertain that the Pet Puja continues. Because পেট পূজা is as important as Puja itself.

The greatest puja is taking care of yourself

Never forget that when the lights go out, it is just you. The term pet puja was coined as a joke to refer to eating, but in truth, feeding yourself is perhaps the holiest act in the world. Every person who eats well and is bighearted enough to share his food with people is an incarnation of the Almighty.

Like Father like son - Messi has his eyes on the prize already

I reiterate my stance that পেট পূজা is just as vital a component of our lives as Puja or Festival. It is the magic that unites us, atheist and believers alike and no one can deny the fact that it makes every festival sweeter. পেট পূজা has perhaps the same soothing effect as the Puja, it leaves its disciples satisfied and content. পেট পূজা is also omnipresent, it does not differential between religion, caste or creed. It does not judge people based on colour or appearance, everyone is welcome.

They say that the main difference between humans and animals is that humans eat to live and animals live to eat. Foodies like me have made a slight alteration to the stance. It is true that humans don't live only to eat, but there is nothing wrong in gorging once in a while, especially during the festivals. পেট পূজা is, thus, the mantra of life for foodies all over the world.

So this Monday, if you are counting down to the days of Kali Puja, Bhai Phota and Chhat Puja for a tastier reason, relax, you are not the only one. You have a friend me!

Have a great week ahead!