Bengalis in the city bonded with each other during the Durga puja celebrations, which began on Shashti and will end on Dasami on Monday, organised by the Hyderabad Bangalee Samity.
Bengalis, not only from the city, but also from other states and countries joined the festivities at Pingle Venkat Ram Reddy Function Hall at Lower Tank Bund in Domalguda here.
Anubrata Basu, who lives at Gurgaon, came here to celebrate the festival with his family. “Here, the festival is more personal, and there is a sense of belonging as members of the samity take the onus of organising the celebrations right from collecting funds till arranging cultural programmes. Moreover, bonding between people is more here whereas in Kolkata celebrations take place on a large scale but without much bonding.
Saptarsi Dev, who has been residing here for many years, visited the place along with a friend, also a Bengali, from the UK.
People turned out in huge numbers to catch a glimpse of the Durga idol. In the afternoon, Sandhi puja was attended by people from various communities, said Biswajit Mukherjee, executive member, Hyderabad Bangalee Samity.
According to Mukherjee, there are around 70,000 Bengali families in the city. People got a taste of the Bengali cuisine as various food stalls sold delicacies like Rashogulla, Sondesh and Katiroll. On Saturday, the programmes included Sankho Dwhani, Uloo Dhwani, painting and drawing competitions, followed by other programmes in the evening.
On Dasami, the Goddess and Her family will be given a farewell. Sindoor Utsav will be held on the same day.