Navarino dreams

By the beach of our hotel

Place: MESSINIA

As I write this, the peak tourist season is just beginning in Greece. A country riddled with economic crisis, Greece nevertheless is the amongst the top choices to visit for many around the world. Tourism contributes about 15% of its GDP. Yet when I went last October, every person we spoke to was a little down, unsure of how they would sustain themselves. The intervening winter has only helped in minute doses. Somehow, I found Greece itself will have to shake things up a little. Wherever we did go, in Athens, or beyond, people are clearly worried – at the Plaka bars, in souvenir stores, by the Acropolis, cabbies in their taksis, in hotels – and it was a bit of a dampener.

Part of the common area between the hotels.
On the left is a restaurant

It is such a beautiful country, and I was fortunate to experience the countryside as well due a longish drive, and every nook and cranny seemed alive to possibilities of people wanting to come and spend time to relax. With its sumptuous offering of world shaping history, ancient cities, exotic architecture, pristine beaches, magical islands, Med cuisine - the landscape is just what the traveler wants. It would be shame if it fell into disarray due to economic hardships.

Here are a few pics of a brief but extremely enjoyable stay at Costa Navarino, the new luxury resort that has been highly recommended by travel experts and might just be able to energize tourism into Europe again. Unfortunately I lost my camera midway, so no pics of Athens, but of course I am really glad to have seen it. Hope many more see it this season, contributing in their own way to reviving the economy, and bringing some smiles back.

Devi family

Durga in the middle with here children, from left to right - Ganesha, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik. Works of art, today there are a many competitions to see who can make the best idols. And competition is fierce! 

Place: DELHI

It's that time of the year again - chuti from office, lots of food, pandel hopping, all kinds of finery, mughlai porota, parar baccha der natak, prosad bitoron, raate cinema dekha, shokaler anjoli and, I almost forgot, the customary nod to Durga and her progeny.

Durga Pujo is the most anticipated time of the year for Bengalis, wherever they are. It is held usually in October, and exact, as every date in the Hindu calendar, differs from year to year. 

This is a glimpse of the devi in a pandel in Delhi's Dwarka Sector 4. Such temporary idols of the the goddess spring up four days right across the city - there are thousands now, and all over the world where there are Bengalis, or Bongs. 

For those who enjoy it, these are four days of bonding as few other communities experience it. They look forward to it the entire year, and in less materially prosperous times, it was the time of the year when new clothes were bought and worn, new activities undertaken as it was an auspicious hour. And for some, it was also the time to go on vacations as a month long holiday in Bengal meant freedom to travel! 

Kolkata of course is where the biggest celebrations are, and the city grinds to a halt during those four days. There are thousands of pandels, and people constantly travel to see idols in different pandels, visit relatives and friends, renew bonds and come together to celebrate the goddess and each other.