Celebrating Teej Puja in Edinburgh & Satyanarayan katha in New Jersey

When I was visiting the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival recently, I met Anju Ranjan, India’s consul-general in Scotland, during the course of my stay. I must admit I have never met any Indian Foreign Service officer who has so much passion and love for Hindi and regional languages. She has a personal collection of around 4,000 Hindi books. It is not so common to find a person with so much love for Hindi in “Bahar Bharat”.

A church converted into a temple in Edinburgh.

I visited the Edinburgh Hindu Mandir and Cultural Centre, that was earlier a church and was later converted into a temple and cultural centre. I was accompanied by Anju Ranjan to the temple. That day Teej Puja was being observed there. Although I knew that the Teej festival had already been celebrated in Rajasthan, people in Bihar and some other parts of India were still celebrating the festival by observing some rituals on that day. Teej is a festival observed during the monsoon months to celebrate the union of Parvati with Shiva. It is not only celebrated in northern or western states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Bihar, but even in a southern state like Telengana. It is also a big celebration in Nepal.

I have memories of very colourful Teej festivities in Rajasthan during my childhood. Women and girls would wear bangles on their henna-dyed hands and put on green clothes. Swings would be set up on trees. A lot of sweets like ghevar would be a part of these festivities. Many do not know that there are two kinds of Teej celebrated in Rajasthan — one is Kajari Teej or Badi Teej and the other is Hariyali Teej, which is observed for two days, and fairs and processions mark the festivities with idols of Teej and Gangaur taken out in processions.

Coming back to my Edinburgh Teej — in the morning, when I met Anju Ranjan, I got to know that she was fasting as she did not join me for a cup of tea. She performed the traditional puja at this Hindu temple, where I found other women also dressed in their traditional finery celebrating Teej.  It made me feel nice to see these women of “Bahar Bharat” — some of whom have been living there for years, and are yet so culturally connected to their roots. It was good to see some of these women with their heads covered as if they were in India itself.

The Satyanarayan Puja in New Jersey, US.

The image of Indians abroad doing pujas has been repeatedly shown in Bollywood films. I can think of several of them right now — like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ), Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (K3G) or Pardes — where we see non-resident Indians observing pujas and customs in such a traditional manner that will put even Indians at home to shame.

In my travels, I always find out about the Indians settled in that particular country, and every time it has convinced me more and more that while some of them may not have visited their homeland for a long time, they are still tied to their roots as they observe festivals and rituals more than their counterparts back in their own country.

I have seen women in South Africa wearing sindoor, covering their heads, removing shoes before entering their houses, and these women have not been to India ever, and consider themselves to be South Africans. In South America, I have met people some of whom had left India in their childhood and have not gone back since, but the love for India is very strong. I have seen people wearing their kurta pyjama and Indian attire for Diwali functions. In our own country today’s generation wear Western clothes and brands even during Indian festivals.

The temple inside the church in Edinburgh.

I was in United States this summer, and I happened to attend a Satyanarayan Puja in New Jersey with my friend and Hindi poet Anoop Bhargava.  The puja was held at a private home, and it was followed by the distribution of prasad. This puja, as you know, is not a regular normal puja but  There waskatha of Satyanarayan Bhagwan as well. Satyanarayan is one of the many forms of Vishnu. I was surprised to hear this house has been holding the katha for more than 25 years now.

I am not much of a religious person, although I respect all faiths. But when I see people outside India observing pujas and rituals with full devotion, somewhere it touches my heart. I am associated with an organisation that celebrates Durga Puja. It is one of the prominent pujas in Kolkata and quite well known, as we do many puja-related events like Khunti Puja, Dhak Utsav and Sindoor Khela. This is no doubt a very glamorous event with many celebrities attending it, but simplicity and devotion are not a part of it. That is what I find in the pujas and rituals followed by the NRIs.

I do not know whether it is the popularity of Hindi films that has influenced the lives of these people in faraway lands and made them connect to their roots or if it is the other way round — that the films only mirror the way the NRIs live.

The contrast between the people living in their own country and those who live outside is too glaring. I have seen Indians living in Malaysia, Africa, South America, the United States or Britain. They may not be able to speak so well in their mother tongue, but the love and respect for their culture and ethos is unparalleled.

I seem to connect with my Indian roots deep inside me more when I am in “Bahar Bharat” rather than when I am home in India. It is these experiences that draws out my desi self and makes me understand the richness and variety of Indian culture that is reflected even in the lives of expatriates in different countries.

The writer is a social and cultural activist based in Kolkata and a frequent international traveller