When we talk about a community’s native festival, we are well aware that there are numerous organisations, which try to celebrate the festival the same way as their hometown, in a different city. But there are some organisations which try their best to preserve their culture in different ways throughout the year, through picnics, cultural meets and so on.
For instance, organisations like The Bengal Association, South Madras Cultural Association (SMCA) and Dakshini Bengali make Durga Puja a big hit in Chennai, but there are Facebook groups like Chennai Bengali and literary groups like Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan (NBBSS), which make staying in touch with one’s Bengali roots a lot easier, from day to day.
Facebook family
“I started the Facebook group called Chennai Bengali in November 2010 with a few of my friends just to keep in touch,” says Pundarik Mahata. Little did he know at the time that what started with 25 members would reach 2,800 in less than four years. “So far we have
had occasional meets at the beach or malls or other hangout spots, but now we are targeting cultural connectivity. In collaboration with NBBSS, we are planning to have a cultural meet on June 22, where all Bengali organisations are requested to participate,” he says. They are planning to have a Bengali band performance, songs, dance, theatre, photography competitions and much more during the day-long Bengali carnival titled ‘Sagarika’ at the Bengal Association hall in T Nagar, adds Mahata.
Another administrator of the Chennai Bengali group, Basumitra Basu, who has been in Chennai for the past 17 years, says that this group is a big help, especially for Bengalis who come to Chennai from different cities. He says, “Often the wall of the group is flooded with questions like ‘How to find a house near my office’, ‘which school in a particular area is good for my children,’ ‘how to reach a particular destination from the station, airport’ and so forth.” And the answers pour in from Bengali friends far and wide. The most popular query is of course: ‘where can I find a good Bengali restaurant in Chennai?’
He adds that the group, although a virtual one, makes him feel at home. Apparently a member who took a trip home recently even posted that he had left his mobile in Chennai and if anyone was travelling to Kolkata — could they bring it by for him? Basu quickly replied that he was coming, and the owner of the phone was only too happy to hear the news.
On another note, Basu adds that SMCA, (of which he is also a member) though being known for pujas primarily, also organises traditional functions by calling various renowned artists from Kolkata.
Pundarik’s friend and another administrator of the group, Sujoy Bannerjee, says that Chennai Bengali helped him create a small group in his office. He says, “I put up a post asking about Bengalis who all work in this particular organisation and surprisingly quite a few came forward. Now this small group makes it a point to meet every day, at least for tea.” He says that initially when they had the Chennai Bengali group meet, very few people used to turn up, say around 10 to 11 (in the first meet) but now at least 40 to 50 turn up and they have a blast together.
For details on the June 22 carnival, visit the FB page ‘Sagarika’ or the group page, Chennai Bengali.