Durga Puja in Bangalore

Durga Puja is an annual festival that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. Durga Puja is widely celebrated across Indian, particularly in the states of Assam and West Bengal where it is a long annual holiday. Being born and brought up in Assam I can say confidently that just like the festival of Bihu, Durga puja is also secular in nature where people from all communities and walks of life participate.

In Bangalore, every year the Bengali and Assamese associations work really hard for the togetherness and warmness of Durga Puja. As far as the Assamese cultural and community welfare organizations are concerned, the Assam Association Bangalore (AAB) is quite renowned. AAB is the nodal organization which binds and unites the entire community present in Bangalore together through various social, cultural and community welfare activities and initiatives throughout the year. The association takes great pride in creating initiatives which showcases the rich, varied and proud cultural legacy and heritage of Assam and in the process create a bridge of respect, harmony and bonhomie between the people of Assam and Karnataka by drawing similarities and parallels.

Durga Puja celebration is such an extravaganza in Assam that I couldn’t avoid mentioning about it in my debut fiction novel Story of Tublu. Located for a major part in the northeast of the country, the narrative is full of anthropological details of lives of people in that part of India some of which are well-known and some less known.

An excerpt from Story of Tublu:

"Autumn has arrived and the town turned wonderful. The fragrance of jasmine and several wild blossoms drifted through the air from the rich flora all around. The weather was magnificent, and after the monsoon the tea garden looked refreshingly green and mesmeric. Maina arrived home and she looked different. She had become more beautiful and confident. In her new shoulder length haircut, she was looking more trendier than before. Tublu was delighted to see her, but he was also anxious and felt apprehensive about something.

Durga puja holidays are always the best in this part of the world. All the schools and colleges remain closed for almost a couple of weeks. The puja celebration is simply amazing. It’s a very significant socio-cultural event and people prepare puja pandals all over the town. It’s a fabulous time for everyone and particularly youngsters, to hang out with friends. People come out on the streets in the evening, wearing their best possible outfits to experience the carnival. That’s the time when young hearts usually collide, leading to some beautiful bonding."


This Autumn is going to be different. Well, I’m putting up a stall in the upcoming Durga puja fest organized by Assam Association Bangalore, where I will exhibit my debut book.

Venue:

Sir M Vishveshwaraya College Grounds Near Kemp Fort Mall,
Murugeshpalya, Old (HAL) Airport Road, Bangalore-560017

(18 - 22 October 2015)




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.