For us Bengalis, Durga Puja is much more than a festival. It is an emotion — woven into our memories, childhood, friendships and our sense of belonging. No matter how far we travel, Puja has a way of taking us back home.
I still remember myself as a Salt Lake girl of the 80s and 90s, celebrating Durga puja in Karunamoyee F Block. It was one of neither Calcutta’s grandest nor most famous pujas, but, for me, it remains one of the most beautiful memories of my childhood.
Early on Ashtami mornings, we would pick shiuli flowers, their delicate white petals and orange stems scattered across the ground, and make the biggest garland we could for Ma Durga. There would be bhog at lunchtime, evenings filled with cultural programmes and, of course, going to the “Payel” dandiya dance at Salt Lake stadium. On the way back, we would stop at the food stalls and enjoy every possible treat.
Those Puja days had a special kind of freedom. They were among the few times we were allowed to stay out a little longer. More than the size of the Puja, it was the familiar faces, familiar places and the feeling of being surrounded by people we knew that made it special. It was a small community, but it felt safe, warm and comforting.
Today, Calcutta’s puja has changed enormously. Some celebrations have become so large that it can be difficult to recognise a familiar face in the crowd. Yet standing among thousands of people at a grand puja can still bring back the feeling of being at Deshapriya Park or Mohammad Ali Park.
Nearly two decades have now passed since I made Glasgow my home. Yet, remarkably, Durga puja remains just as close to my heart. I feel fortunate that Glasgow has had its own Durga Puja tradition for nearly four decades. In many ways, it reminds me of the Puja of my Salt Lake childhood — a community coming together, familiar faces greeting one another and everyone contributing to keep the spirit of the festival alive.
Here we hold the puja in a huge church in the town of Paisley. The festival begins with Mahalaya, when we gather to listen to the familiar chanting, sing together, and recreate a little part of Mahishasuramardini. Being a dancer, I’ve performed it here several times. Then come the five days of Durga Puja — celebrated not simply as a weekend event, but as a continuous festive tradition — followed by the emotional farewell of Karanyash sammilani.
We have two dogs — Daisy and Laggie — and though dogs are not appreciated at every Puja celebration in Glasgow, I sometimes take them along, and luckily, no one has ever said no. After all, Puja is about love, togetherness and bringing everyone — and every being — closer to Ma Durga.
Living so far from Salt Lake, I have realised that home is not always a place. Sometimes it is a sound — the chanting of Mahalaya. Sometimes it is the fragrance of shiuli flowers, the taste of bhog, the rhythm of dhaak, or a familiar Bengali face smiling across a crowded hall.
Glasgow’s puja has given me strength, love, friendship and, above all, a sense of community. Far away from my childhood home, I feel blessed to still have a little piece of Bengal. Every year, when Ma Durga arrives, she reminds me that some connections can never be separated by distance.
SUDAKSHINA KUNDUGlasgow, Scotland/ Karunamoyee F Block