Navaratri and Durga Puja are both upon us till tomorrow. Two significant observances associated with both utsavs are diametrically opposite: fasting and feasting. So, who is wrong? That would be like asking, ‘Is it Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, or Lal Bahadur Shastri’s birth anniversary?’ It’s both. So, why is the answer seemingly less obvious for how festivities are observed by two cultural variants of the same faith?
It would be equally myopic to consider feasting as ‘celebration’ and fasting as penance. Both are happy choices made with both eyes open – mouth closed in one, mouth very much open in the other. Abstaining is as stress-busting as indulging – ritual (read: controlled) fasting has proved to encourage calmness, relaxation, mental sharpness, not to mention purging the body of excesses; while ritual (read: binge) eating gives more-obvious instant pleasures. So, depending on what your poison is, you can partake in Navaratri-style staying-off-the-stuff, or puja-style stuffing-your-face-as-much-as-you-can. Or you can alternate both.
