In celebration

While the Swine Flu scare looms large,the organisers of most of the events are unfazed. As Rajesh Burman of the Bangiya Sanskriti Sansad (which conducts the puja at Congress Bhavan) points out,“As far as the huge gathering of people is concerned we are taking adequate steps to ensure that people here not only have a safe but also an enjoyable time. Right from providing masks,to having on site ambulances and medical teams,we have them all. As for the festivities,we have a puppet show and musical programmes for which artistes are coming in from Kolkata,and also have an Indo-Bangladeshi cultural programme lined up for the six days of the celebration.”

Some of the highlights of the festival this year include Bengali plays,dance dramas,and Hindi orchestras. Speaking about programmes like these Roy states,“The reason as to why we have these kind of programmes is to cater to a wider audience. It would not make any sense if we had all Bengali-centric programmes,as local people staying here would not be able to connect with the festivities. As a result we have these programmes so that we can reach out to a wider audience and ensure that anyone and everyone can partake in the celebrations.”

Another novel concept this year at the Durga Pooja being organised by Nandanik,an organisation that conducts the festival in Kalyani Nagar is the food festival that will be held during the festival. JP Banerjee the president of the Samiti says,“We will be having caterers especially coming from Mumbai for the festival. In addition to that the event itself will start with the Anand Mela wherein womenfolk will prepare traditional delicacies like the Maacher chop,Kosha Mangsho,Luchi Aaludam and Sarur Chakli. In addition to this there will be the regular cultural programmes for the people who will be attending the festivities.”