Its autumn and Bengalis from round the globe are gearing up to welcome Goddess Durga. It’s Pujo time for Bengalis and they are sure to celebrate these four days in the grandest manner possible. Be it home (read Kolkata) or away, Durga Puja reinvigorates Bangaliana (the Bengali culture) in all Bengalis, with traditional dresses, authentic Bengali food and of course the endless adda (casual chat) sessions.
Our very own Chennai is not far behind in celebrating the Puja the Bengali way. The Bengalis in the city have come together to form several associations and Pujas small and big have become quite common in the city.
The Chennai Bengali Association at T Nagar, the South Madras Cultural Association at Besant Nagar, Dakshini at Anna Nagar, Ramakrishna Math at Mylapore, Madras Kali Bari and several other organisations have their own puja celebration.
What sets the Pujas in the city apart is the active involvement of all members that lends a personal touch to the celebrations. “The Pujas in Kolkata are all about glitz, glamour and decoration. It is a huge affair and so tends to be impersonal. Here we might be doing everything on a small scale, but it is more personal and intimate even though not so professional,” says Anjan Prasad Chakraborty, president of Chennai Bengali Cultural Association.
He adds that though the budget here is not too high, every member would actively take part in the ceremonies.
In Dakshini, Anna Nagar, they encourage their members to come forward and participate in the cultural programmes. Inviting professional singers and dancers to perform at their Puja takes away the charm, feels N R Kumar, an active member of the committee. Instead Dakshini’s own choir will perform at the opening ceremony. They also have dance and drama performances and game shows in the evenings.
The Bengali Association has arranged for cultural programmes on all the four days. Besides their own performances, they have also invited participants of SaReGaMaPa (a popular Bengali music show) to come and perform and on Ashtami (the most important day of Puja), a dance troupe from Kolkata will perform.
Pujo is always incomplete without good food specially authentic Bengali dishes. Keeping this in mind the puja committees organise food festivals where stalls selling Bengali cuisines are set up. Dakshini and Bengali Association invite cooks from West Bengal to prepare their bhog (prasadam) everyday during the Pujas.
Ratna Mukherjee, Cultural Affairs Specialist at the US Consulate General Chennai, has been living in this city for over 30 years now. She feels that the number of pujas have gone up with every passing year and members have increased, and that even today Puja is the time when they can reconnect to their roots and community, taking time out of their busy schedule.
For the younger generation, which is not too connected with the Bengali culture otherwise, Pujas are their only connection with Bengal. Anushka Sarkar, a Mechanical Engineering student of SRM, admits that she doesn’t really know what it means to be a Bengali, but Durga Puja is something she looks forward to and enjoys being actively involved in everything from serving food to the guests at the pandals to the visarjan (immersion).
For all the Bengalis, Pujo means homecoming and as they say, home is where the heart is. Bengalis here cannot think of spending a Puja away from Chennai. As Abhijit Sett, who has been living in the city since 1978 says, “I will never go to Kolkata to celebrate Pujo, I am so involved with the Puja of my association.”