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R. C. Rajamani

Come Navaratri, Delhi assumes a festive air. Hinting at the coming winter, the air begins to get cooler. The change from the sultry months of July-August lightens the the mood, adds a spring to the feet and brings a song to the heart. Happiness levels soar as the mercury drops. The season sees the confluence of cultures as Bengalis celebrate Durga Puja, the North Indians Ram Leela, and the South Indians Navaratri.

Durga Puja begins on the sixth day after the Mahalaya Amavasya — sashti. Elaborate rituals and bhajans start from dawn. When the sun goes down, the aarati-performer, holding the mud pot with blazing coal, dances himself into a trance to the rhythmic beat of the drum as aromatic fumes permeate the air, creating a mystic ambience. The Ram Leela involves dance and drama performances from the Ramayana for nine days. On the tenth evening — Vijayadasami — the effigies of demons, symbolising `evil', are burnt, signifying the triumph of `good.'

For Delhi's South Indians it is like being back home. In the 1940s to the 1960s South Indians coming to Delhi would invariably be drawn to Karol Bagh, Mandir Marg, Laxmibai Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and R.K. Puram. They were the first generation migrants, collectively labelled `Madrasis'. They came to the capital to work in a variety of government jobs in independent India. These first `Madrasis' brought their culture to a city that retained the ambience of Mughal life and British-style bureaucracy. They began celebrating festivals the way they did back home.

Navaratri gave them the opportunity to showcase their unique way of celebrating Durga Puja. The highlight of the nine-day festival, of course, is Bommai Kolu, or arrangement of dolls. In earlier times, the nine-day festival also served as a matchmaking season that often saw marriage alliances fixed. Girls, dressed in colourful costumes, would visit each and every `Kolu house' in their locality, and exhibit their music and dance talents. In those days the Tamil-dominated areas could well be mistaken for a Madras neighbourhood.

(A former Deputy Editor of PTI, the author is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist.)

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