This Durga Puja was exceptionally eventful and happy for us. We actually pandal hopped...can you beat it!!! We had a super sumptuous bengali Mahabhoj...a spectacular spread of authentic bengali dishes...at such times you actually wish you were a glutton of sorts.....what a waste, we can hardly eat.

Cutie had a wonderful time, I am so satisfied that we could do something to make her this happy.Dusshera was uneventful though. Being brought up in a remote place in West Bengal, I have never really seen Ramleela and the burning of Ravana. Once during this time we were in Jhansi, I guess I had seen a part of Ramleela then. But someday I'd really love to see how this festival is for non-bengalis. For bengalis Dashami or the Dusshera day is usually a sad one, it's the end of Durga Puja. The immersion ceremony always makes me sad.

Now looking forward to our birthdays, and Diwali...all of which fall almost at the same time.

An afterthought....Ram and Ravana...good and evil..really? Was everything that Ram did happened to be right? Didn't Ravana have any goodness in him. Why is right and wrong always so harshly demarcated.....always white and black, when there exist a prominent gray in every human.

Example....I often cry when I hear a street dog whimper in pain; I blindly believe when my maid talks about her sufferings and don't think twice before giving away money and things; I try not to hurt anybody on purpose; I hardly lie.

Example....when someone asks for a spare gas cylinder I make excuses and don't usually comply; I am not too fond of other people's children....they are fine from a distance; I sometimes discuss people behind their back; judge people baselessly....etc etc....can go on forever.

What am I....white, black or gray???