That everybody in West Bengal enjoys the spirit of puja, waiting throughout the year, is known to all. However, Bengalis in Pune too seem to carry the puja fever in the city to the fullest extent.
Various Bengali associations all over the city are celebrating pujas with fervour and vehemence from Saturday. One can witness the same pomp and revelry at Aamantran, a registered Bengali association on BT Kawade Road, where Bengalis from Hadapsar, Ghorpadi and adjoining areas come to enjoy the festival with devotion and festivity.
“We started celebrating Durga Puja here from 2009. In these three years, our association has grown largely with people from various regions of the city coming to enjoy the puja for five days. We witness a crowd of 5,000 every day visiting our pandal,” Aamantran secretary Debashish Bhowmic told DNA.
Durga Puja at Aamantran started with devi bodhan, a ritual to propitiate and welcome Durga and Shashti Puja, on Sunday. Various cultural events and competitions are arranged in the first four days of the Durga Puja ie Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami. The devi is immersed on Dashmi, the fifth day.
“We will be having Bangla poligeete (Bengali folk song) performed by the in-house members of the association as well as artists from Kolkata in the evenings. Other cultural events like dance and drama have also been arranged. The main attraction is the orchestra by a group from Mumbai on Navami,” Bhowmic said. Various competitions like drawing competition, conch shell and musical chair have also been arranged.
“For Bengalis, Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the year. Celebrating it away from home is just to carry the feeling along. It provides them an opportunity to enjoy the days with devotion and festivity,” he said.
