The epiphanous ice cream and a new beginning

There is a popular saying that “ bangalir baro mashe tero parbon” ( Bengalis have thirteen festivals in twelve months) indicating the profusion of festivals we celebrate every year with unmatched vigour and vivacity. It is like you mention a day to a bengali and he or she will give you a reason to celebrate.

Today ,15th April , is a very auspicious day for Bengalis . Today marks the commencement of bengali new year. Given our inherent penchant for merriment ,this day should have witnessed celebrations among Bengalis , way much grander than that of 1st January but I guess we have successfully moderated our frenzy for festivity, thanx to our desire to imitate the west and our inclination to dissociate tradition from modernization .

My first day of the year started with waking up late . I being a nocturnal creature or an insomniac ,not very sure , never miss the chance to savor the mystical beauty of darkness and ponder over all the weird thoughts that fill my mind at night and then compensate for the lack the sleep by being a late riser .

I would have got a good dressing down from my mother as it was a common belief that no decent girl coming of a decent family wakes up late but I was saved for the day by a call from one of my friends .After wishing me a happy new year she advised me to wear a new dress and feel happy because that is what everyone should do on the first day to ensure that he/she stays happy for the rest of the year. Still wrapped in the stale thoughts of the previous night I quipped “ really? But the time post 12 didn’t seem much promising to me “
“ stupid , don’t you remember ? Our day starts with the rising of the sun. So get up and do something joyful today” she replied .

For those who don’t know our days dont die abruptly at the stroke of midnight, it dissipates gradually paving way to a new one like a whining baby who slowly falls asleep only to wake up fresh and lively.
Infact all our customs and rituals depend on the awakening of the mighty fiery ball . Although we lack precision as the time for sunrise varies ,one must agree that our sense of positivity is unbeatable.

As the first ray of sun invades the world blinding the darkness with its piercing light ,painting the sky with morning hue our day marks a new beginning with renewed hope and dreams.

After hanging up the call I checked my WhatsApp flooded with greetings . I realised I had to do the same. I downloaded a whatsapp sticker from one of the groups and forwarded to all the other groups and uploaded a picture of sweets and swastika painted on a bamboo tray with subho nobobarsha written on it , in my WhatsApp story just to stay in sync with the rest.

Keeping my phone aside I clumsily climbed out of my bed. As I ambled towards the washroom trying hard to shake off the sleepiness clinging on to me like a whining child , I heard my mother talking gleefully over phone, wishing friends and relatives a life of peace and prosperity on this auspicious day. There is a thing about my mother I completely fail to inculcate in myself. She loves to keep in touch with friends and relatives, her love well fed by unlimited jio plan and she does so without complaints.
I , on the other hand is like that tiny snail comfortable in my own little world , who come out occasionally show my own true colors to handful of people and retreat back to my shell again.

Being a bengali and living in kolkata throughout my life,I have noticed and can state without fear of contradiction that nothing connects Bengalis better than plentiful delicious bengali cuisines . The success of most of the occasions depends on preparing and eating food together. I have noticed how every occasion begins with the preparation of an elaborate meal followed by stuffing yourself with more than you could ,at lunch for you can’t say no to your loving mom or aunty or uncle, almost everyone taking part directly or indirectly in the preparations, who coaxes you to have a little bit more.
Being a foodie myself I understand the excitement and cant really deny the spurt of happiness I feel every time delectable food is served.
Like any other occasion my mother cooked delicious food today to make the day special in a very Indian way .

The evening seems a lot more fun and exciting than the daytime on this day.
People who are torn between their desire to celebrate and their cluelessness about how to do the same during the day, find a solution , a purpose in the evening.
The festival of haalkhata is often celebrated on the same day by bengali merchants and traders. They close all the previous reckoning s and open a new ledger . They invite their regulars customers and gift them boxes of sweets and calendars ,sometimes ice creams and cold drinks if your lucky and the customers on the other hand buy anything of their choice or pay a small amount in advance .

In this regard I must tell you that we hardly buy calendars . The ones that you see hanging from the walls or neatly kept on the table are in all probability gifts we get from the shops we ritualistically visit on poila baishak ( the first day of the bengali year)

The jewellery shop located just next to my house celebrate the day with much grandeur.
The roads get lit up with halogen lights and the air gets filled soothing Rabindrasangeet.
People clad in new dresses throng the shop. The speciality of this shop is that they serve ice creams to all the visitors. People stand in queues for hours for the ice cream. The shopkeeper and his workers make people stand in queues to avoid the obvious commotion . My family is lucky as we can avoid the crowd and still have ice creams, well.. perks of being neighbour I guess.

Every year I religiously look at them from my balcony and wonder why they take so much pain to have mere ice creams and sweets when they could easily choose avoid the crowd, buy the same from a nearby shop at a price much less than what they pay in advance and relish them in the comforts of home. Their act seemed incomprehensible and downright ridiculous to me

But This year as I was staring at the crowd jostling with each other , with the same old curiosity that ache my mind , I had a realisation as if an age old secret was unfolded.
I perceived, for the first time the latent happiness that lay hidden in having an ice cream for free when you still can afford it . The free cone ice cream that melts and trickles down the hand and bears the potential to spoil your new dress thus became the symbol of simplistic pleasure that we yearn to experience amidst complexities.

I realised how this day rises in stature in all its simplicity as people knowingly or unknowingly choose to peel the shell of adulthood and dig deeper to unchain and amuse the little one that stay hidden beneath .It discreetly reminds us of the truth that a true beginning, a true celebration of hope and happiness lie in embracing the one within ,in choosing to amuse the kid over flattering the adult and realising the value of a free ice cream of a fleeting moment amidst the perpetual hours of expensive cocktails.