Reflections on my first ever Durga Puja/Navratri in Ahmedabad.

I'm visiting my partner this week to witness Navratri/Durga Puja in Gujarat for the first time ever. Partner is descended from one of the earliest Bengali settlers of Ahmedabad. In laws are members of multiple Durga Puja committees and such. Simple, modest people. But very involved in community events by the looks of it.

I've only been to a couple of Durga Puja venues thus far, having arrived yesterday around 11 AM. Today I was supposed to visit some garba venue in Ognaj but we had to cancel due to the inclement weather. I've never previously done garba before. Tonight we'll go to the event in partner's society itself instead (I am carrying traditional attire).

I hope that circadian clocks don't go for a toss during weekends in Navratri, despite the garba continuing till 3:30 AM last night, with even toddlers staying awake that late. Followed of course, by nashto in the wee hours. That's nasty timing to be stuffing yourself with the kind of fare I'm told Navratri nashto entails.

As someone not very sociable from Mumbai, what struck out to me is that people here in residential societies seem more curious (apt descriptor? Idk) or involved in their neighbours' lives. Been greeted by multiple neighbours of my partner as apparently grapevine communication of marital matches is very robust here.

In between I took the brain dead decision to go for our lunch date at R Kitchen in Renaissance by Marriott, due to it being conveniently close by. Beautiful hotel, food was underwhelming and variety wasn't commensurate with the price. We've previously had better dining experience in Kuro in the same hotel.

I head home by 8 PM tomorrow. Hopefully will be able to cover at least couple more Puja venues tomorrow, since rest of tonight seems to be a damp squib. It will be tricky, since we plan to visit each venue early in the day before crowds well up by noon. To avoid me being outed to partner's relatives as the significant other. Theirs is a huge family, most still settled in Ahmedabad, likely to throng various Durga Puja venues tomorrow. Partner's family insist I'm introduced to extended family only during the wedding.

The traffic snarls I encountered last night were pretty amusing. Hordes of large vehicles on the road. In my social circle, even those earning handsomely (think 70 LPA or more) tend to opt for smaller cars like Kwid etc due to congestion on roads.

Let's see how the rest of my stay here during Navratri/Durga Puja pans out. Hope you've had a brilliant week. Thank you.