doorstep! The ladies were gawking at every dress leaving their boyfriends or husbands waiting impatiently (sometimes scared too). My mom and I did our own shopping too. On Panchami morning, I was pulsing with excitement and could barely contain my glow. It was a beautiful morning with golden sunlight and the sky was sapphire blue with little, wispy white clouds. I was automatically in a good mood. At about 10:30 am, I went to dance rehearsal. My complex usually makes the residents perform for the entertainment programs running during Puja evenings. The residents are more than glad to do so. I took the detour through the back of the clubhouse where the rangoli was. There it was, huge, colorful and elegant. I should know, I helped paint it myself. Dance practice was in an apartment in tower 6. We would be dancing to a mashup of two Rabindra Sangeet. It was going to be EPIC! Even better, I was playing Maa Durga. I reached the apartment and found my other dear friends there. I was not joking when I called them dear. They are one of the greatest groups of friends I could ever have. Our mentor (one of my mom’s friends) is very nice. She was away at the moment; so me and my crew were alone for like 15 minutes till we had to do our last rehearsal. We had lot of fun talks. I tried to keep calm but I was too nervous and excited. We were going to dance in front of a huge crowd tomorrow, on a huge stage! Everything associated with the Durga Puja seemed HUGE. I’d already tried on my dance outfit. A beautiful, long and extremely heavy red silk saree with golden embroidery. The rest of my things will be coming later tomorrow. I conversed with my friends, we were all acting giddy, a little immature. But who cares? We discussed our Shasti day plans; • Take a walk to see the complex decoration, they did hang lights all over every tower but we didn’t pay attention to them because it was still day time. We would go over those at night. Upahaar 2020 37
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