Durga Puja 2010

The deepest realization of the poet Vidyapati, the feeling of eternal love, fulfilment and longing. In his verses, the poet deeply articulated the agony of feeling unfulfilled even after attaining everything: “Tell me, Madhava, how are you to me? Vidyapati says, the two have become one.” This is not a lifeless philosophical question; it is the very philosophy of life. In complete, blissful surrender, love does not cease. The infinity of life moves forward, taking the finite form of a profoundly wondrous question mark, who are you? It is the same question that lingers upon the cresting waves of a mysterious sea regarding the ocean itself; the question that rests upon the night sky’s Milky Way regarding the sky above. In the ledger of gains and losses, amidst the everyday misery of a hollow, selfish society, autumn still arrives, the bells of Bodhon ring, and the melody of Agamoni floats through the air. In the bow of surrender, the ceaseless endeavour to discover oneself within oneself goes on unabated. Behind the bonds of worldly ties, in the subtle hint of light and shadow, in the royal architecture of an ancient culture worshipping the Divine Mother, lies our blissful surrender. It is the quest for a fairytale far beyond the confines of earthly desires and attainments. Swaying between love and unlove, can the answer to that question truly be retrieved, even by diving deep into the fathomless depths of desire and longing? “The setting sun of the day Uttered the final question On the shore of the western sea In the silent evening, Who are you?”