Pooja

I don’t want to talk about politics any more.

Pooja (pooh jya)

If you happen to see a bunch of people singing in the streets and ask someone what is going on, they will answer Pooja.

If someone jumps in front of your car and starts begging for money and then smears some red or orange stuff on your head after you give it to them and you ask what that was all about. They will answer Pooja.

If you hear loud music being broadcast in the distance with someone chanting over a speaker system designed to deliver a message 5 miles and you ask what is going on. They will answer Pooja.

If there are 2 drunk people fighting in the streets with a large crowd of people surrounding them cheering them on and you ask what is going on. They will answer pooja.

If someone walks up to you and slaps you on the head with a hand that smells like it has been drenched in spices and you ask what just happened. They will answer pooja.

Pooja, when kind of literally translated, means prayer. But in reality Pooja is anything that is done with religious intention. And everything here in Orissa is done with their religion in mind. When they get into a car, they do a quick pooja. When they see someone they respect, they do a Pooja. When they drive by a temple (of which there are at least 3 every kilometer) they do a little Pooja.

After a while, I got tired of asking what was going on. I told them that pooja was starting to translate to “just some random thing happening” whenever I heard it. I told them that the answer pooja did not tell me anything more about what I was asking than not answering. And now you know what I found out? They really have no clue what is going on either. Oh, I am sure someone somewhere does, but they just do things because they have been done, are being done, or should be done. I am sure there is some Brahmin somewhere who understands why on the 12th Saturday after the 3rd full moon of a year ending in a multiple of 3 you are supposed to throw a party under a Banyan tree that has an entrance facing south east. But most of the people who I ask here just do it.

Pooja is my least favorite word in their language, because to me, it means nothing.