New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- Good morning!

It is 8am on a Sunday, the first day of Durga Puja, which we call Shoshti. Mumbai's skies are pouring down as if they will never rain again. I haven't made my usual morning call to my home in Kolkata because I am under strict instructions from my mother that, for the next five days, she will not be "always available".

In the Sengupta household, this translates to "Do Not Disturb". It is an annual ritual where we-the children who left home turf-are reminded that Durga Puja festivities triumph over filial bonds every single year.

I left home when I was 18, and I am 41 now, so this is certainly not my first Durga Puja away from home. In fact, I deliberately visit Kolkata during non-puja times so that I c...