What Durga puja meant to us as children...

As I try to remember what Puja meant to me when I was a child, so many things come to my mind and I don't know where to start! Puja meant school holidays to start with, Puja meant shoping with parents, it meant what gifts u received and how many sets of dresses we got. Puja meant visiting friends and seeing theirs too and if they had few more than you, hoping that some aunt or some cousin might just gift you another one. Puja meant praying to the rain gods for bright sunny days. On Shoshti, it meant baba taking us to the pandal and buying some gift from the nearby shop. PUja also meant the first time you learnt to apply nail polish or trying to learn to wear heels.Puja meant some pocket money every puja day - 10 from ma and 10 from baba; spending 10 and saving 10. Puja meant the ghoognis and the tetul aachars...oh how it makes me smile now :-) Puja meant some khichuris too but I hated the queue and so bhai use to go and get some home! It meant khichuri in the mission on Saptami. Puja afternoons were spent with parents, pandal hopping and on Navami, it meant chow mein at Eee Cee or wherever! Puja evenings were meant for friends, reserving seats for them and taking turns in having our dinner and spending the rest of the time watching the cultural programmes. Navami nights use to be orchestra night and my personal fav was a band called 'Yuva'. We returned in the wee hours of the morning to steal sleep for a few hours and then again to the Pandal with our books and pens on Dashami. Puja also meant some Puja - whether it was rushing to be part of the first Anjali batch and laughing when the main Pandit called out 'Bolun....jayanti....' or watching the evening 'Aarti' competitions. And then the sad part to watch it all end and say ...'till another year', following the crowd as far we could go and sometimes with moist eyes. I think I have been to Polo just once for the immersion.And finally helping ma with  the coconut ladoos and waiting for the Aparajitas in the evening. Then say, well it's not the end - Diwali and bhai foota to follow!