Member-only story
The Outer Sanctum
Beyond GPS Range
A personal transmission on festive-season geo-proximity woes for FC NoPromptDay
Fall. Autumn. The end of Durga Pujo. They all conspire to make me nostalgic.
Not quite sad, perhaps. Because Bengalis have a saying: Aschhe bochhor abar hobe. We’ll do it all again next year.
The Divine Mother has finished her annual visit to us mere mortals here on Earth and gone back to her abode somewhere up in the heavens.
GPS doesn’t reach there.
Here on Earth, today is Kojagari Laxmi Puja.
It’s Sharad Purnima, the full moon after Navaratri. The moon is supposed to glow like a polished coin in the sky. Somewhere, I’m sure it does. Here, it’s hiding behind clouds. Mist is rising. Smoky, and slightly creepy. Mother Nature has switched to her Halloween programming, which, given that we’re in the US, is only appropriate. The coyotes should be along shortly to provide the soundtrack. Full moon, after all.
In Bengali homes, even here in the US, floors bloom with alpona — traditional designs made with rice paste, often with little footprints to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. Prodeep, the small oil lamps, flicker in corners. Incense fills the rooms.
