‘Wearing something quirky Bengali is a must’ …to attend his Dussehra celebrations, author Hindol Sengupta tells After Hrs as he also reminisces about the fond memories of the festival during his growing up years

‘Wearing something quirky Bengali is a must’

…to attend his Dussehra celebrations, author Hindol Sengupta tells After Hrs as he also reminisces about the fond memories of the festival during his growing up years

“While the concept of goodness over evil remains, for us it is Vijay Dashmi and not Dussehra, as it’s the goddess defeating the demon,” author Hindol Sengupta explains, as he talks about the festival celebrated around the country with much fervour and splendour. “It’s a festival about shunning the worst in you,” he says, but Bengalis celebrate writing, books and intellectual property on Dussehra as well, he adds. But as the years have progressed, Durga Puja has become one of the largest branded events in the country. Hindol’s childhood memories of Dussehra include it being a time to escape parental gaze, where potential couples could meet and spend time. “As an adolescent, I used to be feel sad on this day, because it meant the end of that meeting period,” he says. It was also a time of landing up unannounced at people’s houses to feast on sweets and get money for touching elders’ feet. “We used to calculate how much we could earn in the circuit if we visited 12-25 houses on Dussehra,” he laughs. Today we see a disintegration of the joint community that used to exist back then,” he adds. “It is rather sad that I have memories of Dussehra as it has transcended across the rainbow from innocence into a corporate property,” he says. This year Hindol plans to celebrate Dussehra in Delhi by throwing a Bengali-style lunch for friends where everyone is required to be a bit Bengali. “A bindi, or a sari or the geeky glasses — wearing something quirky Bengali is a must,” he quips. After this “burst of gluttony,” he plans to go pandal-hopping and end his day at the Ramleela maidan.