Navratri is upon us, and the Goddess is already the centre of myriad celebrations, by various cultural communities in the city. Garba sessions are in full swing, as are the age-old traditions of praying, fasting and feasting alike. One community, as usual, will be taking its own sweet time to join the festive show. Bengalis will be welcoming Goddess Durga home today, and here’s what the Pujo organising communities around Chennai have planned for their grand entrance to the party:
Dakshini Society, Anna Nagar
This is the 23rd year for the “puja with a family-like atmosphere”, informs Somojit Ghosh, president, Dakshini Society. The celebrations begin with a puja at 7pm on Shashti, with the Dakshini choir’s welcome song kicking off the cultural festival. The Ananda Mela begins at 9.45 pm, so be ready to treat your taste buds and have some fun.
The morning puja begins at 7.30 am every day on Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami, followed by Anjali at 11 am on the former three days. The mornings are as lively as the evenings, with competitions and game shows to challenge your grey cells during the day and cultural performances to regale you at night. Sindoor khela rounds up Dashami morning as usual, and the Goddess will be bid adieu at 4 pm.
This year’s celebrations aside, the organisers have already set their sights on the year 2019. “Planning has begun for our 25th year,” says Ghosh, “We are looking for a better venue.”
South Madras Cultural Association, Besant Nagar
The Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Indira Banerjee, will be the guest of honour at the inauguration on Shashti, September 26. A theatre group from Kolkata will also be staging a performance.
You can join the revelry from the night before, however, as the association celebrates Panchami with an ananda mela where food cooked by the association members forms the fare for the evening. The ananda mela will be accompanied by the staging of a Bengali play.
There will be a dance-drama staged on Navami as well, in addition to the cultural programmes to be held every evening.
The pujo — first organised in 1979 — will follow the same schedule everyday, with Anjali following the morning puja from 11.30 onwards, and sandhi arti at 6.30 pm.
Troop in from 1.30 pm onwards for the classic, vegetarian bhog and some prasadam .
Dakshin Chennai Prabasi Cultural Association, OMR
The outdoor celebrations at DCPCA promise to be as exciting as ever, and Ardhenu Chakraborty, association president, expects quite a good turnout. “We have seen crowds of almost 4,000 on the days of Ashtami and Navami,” he says, “This year, those numbers are our most modest estimate.”
Claiming to be the only Bengali pujo festival on the entire stretch of OMR, DCPCA has arranged for a slew of food stalls — fast food favourites as well as quintessentially Bengali offerings from Kolkata, performances, music and more, so you can celebrate with full fervour as Goddess Durga watches on.
Watch the ladies of the association regale the goddess with their dhunuchi naach on Ashtami evening, followed by a Tagorean dance-drama. There are cultural performances planned for every evening, including a band on Shashti, a children’s fashion show on Saptami and dandiya with a DJ on Navami.
So take your pick this festive season, and go immerse yourself in worship, celebration, and of course, a carnival of taste.
