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By Narendra Kumar Singh

This is supposed to be the first big festival after Lohri in North India. Today we offer prayer to the Goddess ‘Saraswati’ who is the Goddess of wisdom and knowledge. I remember my childhood days when I was in my villege and we (my childhood friends) had organised the pooja in our school. We used to collect contribution from friends, relatives as well as different houses in the villege to purchage the Idol and prasad. We start prepration around a week before the day. One day before the ‘pooja’ we had to bring the Idol to our place, usually the primary school of my villege where I was till Std. V. The whole night we used to spend in the school, preparing for the next day; all kind of decoration, preparing prasads we had to complete. I left the villege when I was 11; my dad got transferred to Chandigarh and I moved there with him.

After that I was never the part of such type of celebration till today at AIM. Here at AIM, there was not really much to do; lots of people to help; no need to ask for any contribution; propbably college be providing the money.

Now, At our place people establish many Idols at various places of the city. For that they collect money from the residents, businessmen, shop-keepers… Its not this particular festival but there are a lot… Say it be Durga Pooja, Ganesh Chaturthi.. there are many more… Is it necessary? Its my personal experience, for common man it creates trouble.

Once I was travelling from my villege to Patna by bus, in the way I had to stop many a times; just because large number of people were stopping the traffic to ask for ‘Chanda’ as we call it. They will move to houses; I have seen abusing people on denying. Most of the money collected is mis-used, you know…. Its have taken really a ugly form in my state as well as most parts of north India.