'Kajol's A Real Foodie Who Loves Sweets'

'Durga Puja is also a time to catch up on the gossip and when the girls of the family get together it's a beautiful feeling that is hard to describe.'

Starting with Mahalaya, which marks the end of the Pitru Paksha (period of mourning) and the onset of Devi Paksha, Bengalis across the country plan when to go pandal hopping with family and friends, where to stop for the Pushpanjali (morning prayers) and Bhog (prasad) and how to leave work early so they can catch the evening aarti and Dhunuchi naach.

They also pick which pandals offer the best cultural entertainment and have stalls for late night dinners and stalls that will take care of the need for impromptu shopping for clothes and jewellery.

While Mumbai may not have as many Pujas as Kolkata and its suburbs, there are a few pandals which are a must-visit for devotees every year.

Among them is the North Bengal Sarbojanin Durga Puja Charitable Trust, started by movie mogul and founder of the Filmalaya Studio Sashadhar Mukherjee and his wife Sati Rani, the sister of Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Anup Kumar.

The Puja, which is in its 77th year, started on Shashti, October 9, with the Amantran and Adhivas at 7 pm, followed by the Sandhya aarti at 8 pm; it will continue through to Dashami, October 12.

The couple's granddaughter, actor Sharbani Mukherji, who has been a part of the annual celebrations since she was a child and today has special responsibilities, talks about how it has evolved, growing bigger and grander, with some inevitable changes.

In the first of a two-part interview, Sharbani Mukherji tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya, "In the early years, the Puja was organised only with donations. I remember my mother Shamita Mukerji going from house to house asking for chanda. Even I would take the chanda book to school and ask my teachers for donations."

What are your earliest memories of Durga Puja?

Well, I didn't like missing school, but I would take a letter from my parents requesting that I be granted half a day's leave during these five days so I could participate in the family puja.

My paternal grandfather was normally a very strict man, but, during this time of the year, we saw a softer side to him.

He would give all the grandchildren some money and the big thrill for us was that we could decide what we wanted to buy with that money when we went Puja shopping with the elders.

The shopping sprees continue but now, for me, it's all about prepping, organising and supervising the rituals, ensuring they go off smoothly.

The North Bengal Sarbojanin Durga Puja Charitable Trust used to be a family affair earlier, right?

Yes, it used to be what we call a choto gharoa pujo. Any new member was drawn into the celebrations with the rest of the family, given some responsibility, be it getting donations or serving bhog.

In the early years, the Puja was organised only with donations and I remember my mother Shamita Mukerji going from house to house asking for chanda.

Even I would take the chanda book to school and ask my teachers for donations; back then, even Rs 10 mattered (smiles).

And now that it's a sarbajanik (community) puja, how much has it changed?

My father Rono Mukerji is now the president of the North Bombay Durga Puja Samiti.

As sponsors came in and corporates became a part of the puja committee, not only did the Puja grow in scale, things also got more streamlined and corporatized.

With more funding, there were better decorations and security and use of technology; even the venue changed.

When we started, it used to be held in the Podar School ground (in Santa Cruz West, northwest Mumbai).

Later, it moved to neighbouring Balkan-Ji-Bari which was more spacious and then to Tulip Star Hotel (which used to be Centaur Hotel before it was bought over) in Juhu (north west Mumbai).

This year, we have moved back to Santa Cruz, to the SNDT Women's University grounds.

In the last seven decades, there have been changes in the theme and decor, but Maa Durga's face is still the one decided by my grandmother; that's been the one constant.

Amit Pal, who makes the idol, is a second generation murtikar who is continuing his father's legacy.

Since your cousins Kajol, Tanisha, Rani Mukerji and (writer-director) Ayan Mukerji (whose film Brahmastra: Part 1 -- Shiva won the National Award in the AVGC category), along with other Bollywood stars and big names from the film fraternity not only attend but also serve bhog on particular days, there are long queues at your Puja every year and they have only grown longer.

A special bhog is prepared for Maa Durga, Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati an the Gods Kartik and Ganesh every morning.

Every day, it's a different menu and the utensils for the Gods are different and kept separate.

When the Gods are being served, no one other than the priest can be present so a sari, dhoti or sheet is held in front of the idols to shield the ritual from the eyes of the devotees milling around.

My brothers, Samrat and Siddharth, are usually entrusted with this responsibility; sometimes, my cousins, Raja (Rani Mukerji's brother) and Ayan have helped hold this makeshift screen.

Later, this is mixed with the bhog that is prepared so that the prasad reaches every devotee.

Has the menu changed?

No, it's still khichuri (rice and lentils), bhaja (fritters), labda (mixed vegetable curry), tomato chutney, payesh (rice pudding) and mishti.

Earlier, devotees at our pandal would be seated on dhurries placed on the floor and served bhog in shal pata (leaf) plates.

Now, they are seated on chairs at a long table and served in an air-conditioned hall; even the Puja area and the place where the cultural programme is hosted are air-conditioned.

We are among the few Durga Puja pandals where every devotee is seated on a chair and a table and served in batches.

As children, the first responsibility we were entrusted with was filling jugs with clean drinking water from the big drums.

A little of this water would be given to each devotee to wipe their plates clean before the meal was served.

Then, we would fill and refill the glasses of water till they had finished their meal.

As we grew older, we moved from filling glasses with water to serving bhajas.

The big containers with the khichuri, labda, tomato chutney and payesh were too heavy and hot for the kids to handle, so they were left in the safe custody of the elders but, after a while, we got to serve the mishti.

That was fun because, for every sweet that was placed on the plate, two went into our stomachs.

It's lovely to see the family bonding during this time.

Yes, no matter where we are all year, all the cousins try to meet up during Durga Puja, along with our elders, friends and colleagues.

Kajol is a real foodie who loves sweets, particularly the goja my mother prepares.

Goja is a typical Bengali sweet, made of flour, deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup, and she relishes it.

Durga Puja is a time for eating. It's also a time to catch up on the gossip and when the girls of the family get together it's a beautiful feeling that is hard to describe in words.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com