It’s Coming Home

“Its Coming Home, its coming home….Football’s coming home,” for any world football fan, especially European football, this ain’t a new slogan….a chant that echoes and fills the social media and stands with a glimmer of hope, patriotism and maybe some what pipe-dream of lifting a major trophy, or rather any trophy by the Three Lions at the Wembley. Jokes apart, if we look at the positive side, then this chant symbolizes the never ending wait for the return of the Jules Rimet , which can no longer return ( ‘cause its missing since 1983). But why am I referring to the football craze of a tiny island nation, rather the colonial masters of the Indian subcontinent ? The sole aim is to draw your attention to a similar phase in Bengali, yes I am a Bong, Phirey Esho Kolkata, which roughly translates to Come Back Kolkata.

Phirey Esho Kolkata was, rather is, a unique campaign launched by the Times of India, a leading national daily, probably in 2019. This campaign aimed at the Maa Durga personified and living within all the naaris- mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, who due to their work commitment or otherwise could not make it to Kolkata for Durga puja, the grand Hindu festival and arguably THE MOST BELOVED Hindu festival for Bengali Hindus. The agamoni of Maa, the week long celebration, pandal hopping, gossip with friends, outings with families, travelling to ancestral homes, developing crushes, heartbreaks for many and what not!. Its an emotion, a feeling; something that can’t be explained but felt. Being twenty-two years old, with a sound memory since the age of eight and having stayed all Durga Puja celebrations, I myself haven’t explored all the faces of this beautiful festival. It seems each passing year there is some new aura, some new vibes, some new attachments. 

The city gets decorated in lights and festivities, stalls erected at every nook and corner, tsunamis of people, not even a pin-drop space (don’t know if that’s a thing but yes…hopefully you understood) in buses and metros; wherever you go there’s the constant whistling by the cops, the volunteers sometimes requesting, miking, yelling (ha ha).. to keep moving and not blocking the line. The crowd itself is a diverse force!. The family crowd, usually a serviceman father, a mother, one or two kids, tripling and fourwheeling on a motorcycle or scooter, hopping pandals to pandals, with one kid constantly nagging for cotton candies or ice-cream or cold drink or anything some random stranger is having. The middle school kids, in a group of eight to ten, probably permitted by their parents to not go beyond five kilometers from their house, yet there is some rebellious spirit who convinces the group to go to some far off puja pandel, they get late and the phones starting to get anxious calls from parents who are wondering why the kids’re so late. The high school and college group is probably the carefree and hopeless of all, life of freedom but tension about placements and college admission; usually comprising of couples who are dating within the group, committed but BF/GF not in the group, the ever single dude, the moving bag hangers who are entrusted to carry the baggage load of the group, the photographer, the route-guide and the guardian (usually the most serious guy/girl who is entrusted by all the parents to keep the group in check). There’s also groups consisting of office goers and colleagues, old school friends and even locality buddies. Its an amalgamation of all sorts of spirits, from every age group, social group and professional groups(?)….

Now coming back to Phirey Ehso Kolkata was a unique campaign where postcards were sent to invite everyone over to Kolkata. The initiative was a hit when launched by TOI and continues till date. As Durga Puja is almost round the corner, I would invite you all to come and visit Kolkata during this wonderful time of the year. Come lets immerse in this Intangible Cultural Heritage, as quoted by UNESCO, and leave an immemorable impression of this City of Joy. But wait a minute!. How do I relate it to ‘Its Coming Home’? Well… as sung by Elvis Presley, “Home is Where the Heart is”, and trust me, once you are here during the pujas, your heart cannot loiter anywhere else.