Nostalgia is something we cherish when we grow old. Nostalgia makes us feel happy and smile. And when it comes to occasions like Saraswati Puja, almost all of us have sweet memories which we are never tired of sharing with others.

So, to mark the occasion, Tellychakkar.com got chatty with a few Bong actors who walked down the memory lane to collect the anecdotes of the day.

Over to them-

Prapti Chatterjee: To me, Saraswati Puja means holiday, holud (yellow) saree, topa kul (a type of fruit), pujo in school and adda with friends.

Rajdeep Gupta: Every year, I used to remain awake the previous night with my grandpa and decorate our home. We used to make a mini pandal. My grandpa is very good with art and crafts, so he used to use his skills and I used to help him with works like cutting papers and attaching things with sellotape.    

Debottam Majumder: Saraswati Puja…aah that would be the only time of the year when I would go to the market. The previous night, we all friends would go to the market to purchase the idol of Maa Saraswati and that was super fun. The aunties and grandmas of our para (locality) would prepare yummy khichudi and we would serve it. In the evening our para used to organize a function and back then I used to be a singer. I still remember giving an autograph on a girl’s palm. I am talking about 90s Saraswati pujo when there was no mobile phone with students like us and selfie was out of the world ‘term’. Memories still dwell in our minds waiting to fade away with age but the essence and the flavour are still fresh in my mind. But I really don’t remember “oi may ta’s face” (that girl’s face I had a crush on) …I wish I had a camera in the 90s…  

Mafin Chakraborty: We organise Saraswati Puja in a grand way in our dance institute and distribute packets to the students. For most of the girls, Saraswati Puja means wearing saree. However, I was the opposite. I never liked wearing saree. In fact, I am still not that fond of this attire. Back then I had two friends who were kind of like me. I still remember how we used to wear modern dress on this day and people used to tease us by saying, “Look, three modern Saraswatis”. Although I love khichudi but back then every year, we would expect our school to prepare something other than Khichudi but in vain. Our school also used to prepare khichudi on another occasion and again we were not that fond of that dish. The name was hilarious: running kichudi standing alurdom. We literally used to get teased by people for such a funny name.    

Kunal Banerjee: During childhood days, this pujo was the most exciting occasion for us as the responsibility of organising Saraswati Puja was solely on the shoulders of the kids. No seniors were allowed. We used to manage everything starting from collecting chanda to making the pandal to bringing the idol of Goddess Saraswati. After the puja in the morning, we used to visit different schools or you can call it pandal hopping. Those two days meant no studying only adda. The added attraction was after the visarjan (immersion) we used to organise a picnic. Yes one more thing, the day after the pujo, my mom makes Gota Sheddho (a Bengali dish) and I just love it. 

Share your memories with us!!!