Bengalee Association
Bengalee Association is one of the oldest and most popular pujas in the city. This year they usher in their 69th Durga Puja. Bengalee Association was awarded the Sarad Samman award last year. Keeping in mind s abeki or traditional face of the idol, “this year their theme is Kolkata collage, there will be designs of Victoria Memorial, hand rickshaw, Howrah Bridge etc,” informs Dattatreya Ghosh, EC member, Bengalee Association. The puja will be held at MAIA Farms, a farm house located near Dodaballapur.
On Panchami day, there will be Ananda Mela ,where the Association ladies will prepare home-cooked Bengali food and the profit will go to charity. There will be a children’s talent show and fancy dress competition. Shashti starts with Shashti puja in the morning and Agomoni, a warm welcome to the Goddess. Pushpanjali flower offering will be offered on all days. Astami is considered as the most auspicious day. On this day, apart from dhunuchi dance competition, there will also be cultural programs. From S aptami to Nabami, bhog will be served. This year they are planning to start Kangali bhojan – the ritual feeding of the underprivileged. There will be 40 food stalls with different varieties of dishes from Kolkata.
JP Nagar
Utsav, a socio-cultural organization, will be celebrating their seventh Durga puja at a bigger venue, Sindhoora Convention Hall at JP Nagar Phase-1. On October 15, there will be a musical tribute to legendary music composer Salil Chowdhary Surer-o Jharna and Pratimodan , a classical dance drama for the invocation of gods.
On October 16, there will be a performance by teen band ‘Bandishe-reloaded’, the staging of Juta -Aavishkaar , a play performed by kids based on famous story of Rabindranath Tagore and another lyrical play by Tagore - Lakhhir Porikhha , performed by women only. There will be a musical performance by the upcoming young playback singer of Kolkata, Lagnajita Chakraborty.
They will also publish a literary magazine Bodhon . They will also serve bhog . For details visit http://www.utsav- bangalore.com/.
BinB
BinB (Bengali in Bangalore) is all set to host Durgotsav, at Udupi Garden, BTM. This year, the theme is to celebrate the gracious but mighty Durga in every woman. The pandal will bear cut outs of women achievers, such as India’s first artistic gymnast Padmas Shri and Khel Ratna awardee, Dipa Karmakar, and Swapna Barman, daughter of a rickshaw puller, who dared to dream and worked hard to secure India’s first heptathlon gold in the Asian Games.
As a part of BinB tradition, members will serve bhog during all five days. There will be multi-cuisine food stalls. This year, the festival begins at the venue at 12 noon with Ananda Mela — a cook and sell food fiesta with top three dishes that will be awarded by International Institute of Hotel Management. On October 15, the Durga puja inauguration will be held with the traditional pradip, and dhunuchi dance at 6 pm. The popular Bengali band Stabdh will also perform.
On October 16, 6 pm onwards, visitors will witness Essence of a Woman’s performance by BinB members, followed by a performance of folk and contemporary music by band Mrittika. There will be an instrumental performance by percussionist Soumya Shankar Roy and Amrita Roy, Rabindra Nrityanatya Shaapmochan will be staged by BinB members and the band Musication will play popular Bengali and Hindi classics and medleys on October 17 from 6 pm onwards. A fashion show Weddings of India will kick off the celebrations on October 18 from 6 pm, followed by a performance of Bengali band Konnectionz.
Socio-cultural Indiranagar
This puja enters its Golden Jubilee, a journey that started 49 years ago by a small group of like-minded friends from Jogupalya Choultry. The current SCA, Indiranagar President Biswanath Bhattacharya, says: “The support SCA has received over years from local people, administration, and members has been immense and we owe the people of Bengaluru a special celebration this year.”
Bhog will be served for three days from October 16 to October 18). Rabindra Sangeet exponent Rezwana Chowdhury Banya, upcoming and talented singers Adriza and Rishi Chakraborty will perform. There will be a program by local artistes and Bollywood singer Kumar Sanu.
Sarathi Socio-Cultural Trust
Sarathi Socio-Cultural Trust will host their Durga Puja this year at Mangala Kalyana Mantapa, Koramangala 7th block. The puja will include offering of bhog , pushpanjali , sandhi puja, and homa.
This year’s puja will be a musical extravaganza. On October 15, there will be Sarathi choir performance, a perforamnce by Kohal band, and a musical night by Adriza. On October 16, there will be a ‘battle of the bands’ titled ‘Bandemonium’, a dance show Ronggon , and Bollywood night by Raj Barman. On October 17, ‘Bandemonium’ will be held again. There will also be a performance by Digonto Rekha, and a Bollywood musical, ‘Jhankar Beatz’. On October 18, there will be a musical night by Anupam Roy and a Bollywood night. For details visit: www.sarathionline.org.
