“The moment Navratri begins, I feel like a child again. Growing up in Hyderabad, I remember the scent of marigolds. I see the women stacking tangedu and gunugu flowers and singing, clapping in rhythm, to traditional Bathukamma songs. Nobody told me then that this was where I was learning what community means.

Fifteen years ago, a few of us in our colony started a Durga pandal in front of our apartment. A nearby Jammi tree, then a small plant, has now grown almost five storeys tall.

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Back then, we had no big budget, just a lot of neighbours who showed up with chairs, flowers and opinions. Today, the whole colony looks forward to Navratri. Each day, Maa Durga appears in a different avatar, including Bala Tripura Sundari, Annapurna, Gayatri, Mahalakshmi and Saraswati. Our evenings bring Bathukamma songs, kumkumarchana, dandiya and prasadam. Even elders who come only to watch end up dancing! Annadanam brings everyone together over a shared meal.

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Through my company, Master Brains, I organise Saraswati Puja. Children place their books at the Goddess’s feet, and afterwards, we give them books and stationery for school. We started by distributing kits to 100 children every year, and the number grew this year. Their excitement makes it all worthwhile.
This year, we also gave scribbling pads to members of our colony’s Welfare Association, Senior Citizen Association and Chaitanya Mahila Mandali. Watching them becoming kids again made me realise learning has no age.

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On Vijaya Dasami, we gather around the Jammi tree for puja and exchange its leaves as ‘bangaram’. We touch our elders’ feet, hug neighbours and wish each other a happy Dussehra. After ten days of festivities, we bid Maa Durga goodbye and wait for her return next year.
Dussehra Subhakankshalu everyone!”

Sumana Rani & Ashok Kumar ,
Founders, Master Brains