HYDERABAD: It is celebration time for Bengalis all over as they usher in Dasara with great enthusiasm.
The Durga puja is most significant socio-cultural event among the sizeable Bengali community of Hyderabad.
The Bangla Sanskriti Samiti (BSS) has been organising a Durga puja festival in the city for 43 years now. The puja gathering that once started with a meagre budget of Rs 6,000 has now taken the shape of one of the biggest events in the city.
“It is not just the Bengalis, but people from varied linguistic and religious backgrounds who participate in the event,” says Atin Choudhary, a prominent member of BSS. “It is much more than a festival for Bengalis,” he says.
On the other hand, the Hyderabad Bengali Samiti (HBS) has been organising this puja in the city for the last 68 years. They bring the Durga idol from Kumartuli, a place in West Bengal that is famous for idol-making. The Samiti spends around Rs 20 to 25 lakh during the festival. It also organises bhog distribution every afternoon where they serve more than 5,000 people everyday. On the occasion of Maha Ashtami and Navami, this number goes up to more than 10,000.
“Because Navami falls on a Sunday, we are expecting even more people,” says Sumit Sen, general secretary of HBS.
While taking care of the festivities, the Samiti also ensures proper security for all the devotees, with the help of Hyderabad city police. “We want to ensure that nothing evil happens during these auspicious days of the puja and so security becomes our prime concern,” Sen says.
“We have been passing through a difficult time. The impact of recession has been tremendous. We should unite and work as team to create a sense of togetherness,” says the president of the Bengali Sami t i , Supriya Basu Thakur.
While Durga Puja is the most important festival for Bengalis, Gujaratis celebrate this festival as Navrati, meaning nine nights of celebrations.
It is one of the biggest and longest festivals for Gujaratis all over, which is celebrated with Garba and Dandiya performances.
The Gujarati Seva Mandal (GSM) in Hyderabad organises a Garba festival in the traditional Gujarati way, with singers that are brought in from the land of Garbas.
“We play only Garbas and Gujarati songs during the festival and Hindi songs are a complete ban,” said Kishore Morjaria, manager of GSM.
They have Aarti auction everyday, where the highest bidder gets to perform the Durga aarti.
Auctioning of the aarti is one of the traditions that is religiously followed in Gujarat during the festival. The GSM diverts the auction money towards educational requirements of the poor. With people dressed in colourful chaniya cholis and traditional Bengali sarees, both these festivals add colour and fun to the city of Hyderabad.
Swami Jnanadanand, president of Ramakrishna Mutt has urged people to forget their worries as Goddess Durga would descend on earth to destroy all evil forces.
Mouthwatering Bengali snacks apart from the bhog are also being served at some puja pandals in the city, a surefire hit with the young and old alike. So dust off the old cobwebs of cynicism and anxiety and join in the celebrations to welcome Maa Durga.
Peace and prosperity are sure to follow.