KALI PUJA

I arrived in Calcutta on Diwali. During all night fireworks wrote lines in the sky. But on the overall it was quite calm.
Then the next evening, on my way back from a beautiful bhekti pathuri, I notice that on the streets some lorries and small vans go back and forth , families and group of friends are there and they sing and laugh and bring around a Kali image as overhere somebody would for their favourite league champion.
In triumph.

The atmosphere is exilarating, every van is proud of hiw own Kali image. The people quietly celebrating the night before now are out on the streets and in the usual simple and true Bengali way, they are out to be happy and share happiness. 

The next nights is time to bring back Kali to the Hooghly (Gange) and every family or neighborhood does so. Close to Baby Ghat where the idols are returned to Hooghly the vans have to slow down (they are in fact queuing). 

I followed a couple of vans and I have been soon welcomed as a member of family , it was one of the warmest night out i spend.

I loved this family, the grandmother asked me to take a picture of them and soon afterwards almost choked me with the most sincere and exuberant hug. 

When we arrived at the Hooghly Kali was let go with other more dances and fireworks. 

All the families were out, children and women all of them partying for this night.