Elections Yes! But with Due Respect to Forefathers...

Maharashtra Assembly elections are round the corner. Polling on 13th October and counting on 22nd October. And yet...

The ruling coalition has been discussing seat sharing for the last three days and in our news room we wait for the final decision every day and making our headline that 'discussions continuing...' Yesterday somebody got tired and asked me how long would you continue making the same headline! The opposition coalition will declare candidates on an auspicious day, that is, tomorrow, why you will know a little later.

Apart from the problem of delimitation of the constituencies which caused many stalwarts on all fronts lose their earlier ones, there is one basic issue for causing the delay.

It's Pitrupaksha, that is, the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadra (September-October) leading to the new moon when our ancestors descend on our earth and it becomes easier for all Hindus to give their respectful offerings directly to their forefathers. All 15 days offerings are made at homes, temples, beaches and river sides and shraddha (funeral ritual) ceremonies are held. Basically it's our deep respect and gratefulness to our ancestors. We seek to please them and get their blessings.

But the main problem here is that though this fortnight is immensely auspicious, no major decisions are taken, no major trading and deals are made and all wait for the illuminated fortnight that follows to make new beginnings. And tomorrow is the first day of this fortnight when Goddesses are worshiped throughout.

So, we expect everything to happen from tomorrow. Though today was the first day of filing nominations, only one candidate filed his in whole of Maharashtra which has 288 constituencies!

More on Pitrupaksha!

Comments

Mitali: The Trauma of Losing a Sibling

Maybe I lied to her when I used to reassure her that she was going to be alright and was going to resume her life in some measure of normalcy in the future years; maybe all my gestures/expressions were false when I used to run my fingers across her forehead or embrace her on occasions when she was able to move around a bit; and maybe all my exhibitions of love care and responsibility were exposed as superficial when I failed to turn up in Delhi where she along with my mother were treated during September-October, 2022 (my mother Urmila Chakravarty was also diagnosed with dental cancer the same month the same year as she was) and when all the members of my parental family and the in-laws converged. Since that fateful day in August, 2022 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer to that disastrous day of March 6, 2025—the day my younger blood sister Mitali (Mainu) Chakravarty Sarma (November 2, 1963—March 6, 2025) passed away in the wee hours in a hospital in Guwahati after giving a bra...

Release of Book 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories'!

The fourth collection of stories titled 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories' by Chinmay Chakravarty has been released on Amazon KDP just now! This collection, short stories in a lighter vein plus with mild satire like the previous collections, has been published in both the E-book and Paperback formats. The links are given below: International: Click Here ! India: Click Here ! Other collections of short stories by the same author: The Cheerless Chauffeur and Other Tales(2021)--Notion Press. Funny and Fishy Tales(2022)--KDP. The Weirdos(2022)--Ukiyoto Publishing. All books of the author are available on Goodreads, apart from Amazon and other outlets! Have a look!

Kolkata: Cancel the Commerce of the Durga Puja Carnival!

Yes! We ask why shouldn't the pure Commerce show of the Durga Puja Carnival in Kolkata be canceled in view of the worsening medical crisis? For how long this cruel irony of continuing the worship of the Mother Goddess and continuing to torture/kill the Mothers in human forms going to continue? Greed, limitless greed of humans! Dear God! This time Goddess Durga came in a cradle which in itself implies ominous times, and further, the tithis from Mahasaptami onward came mixed in such a way that you get three days of worship, technically. Yet, the greedy and selfie-social-media-crazy crowds of 'devotees' were still not satiated, descending on the Puja pandals in uncontrollable hordes for as long as seven days, and to pander to their greed and to have the maximum of business, most of the Puja organizers disregarded the tithi break-up completely and have been celebrating Bijoya Dashami or the Dussehra well into Ekadashi, the eleventh day! They expect the hordes to descend tonigh...