West Bloomfield

Bengali group holds Durga Puja festival

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

Hundreds of Bengalis and celebrants are expected to head to West Bloomfield High School this weekend not to study, but to enjoy festivities and honor the Hindu goddess Durga.

Bichitra Inc. will celebrate its Durga Puja festival at the high school Sept. 30-Oct. 2. The nonprofit group has promoted Bengali culture in the metro Detroit area since 1974.

According to Rita Bhattacharyya, Bichitra’s cultural secretary, the Durga Puja is a major holiday for Bengalis, whose origins stem from the state of West Bengal in eastern India. However, the holiday has other variations and goes by different names, depending on which part of India is celebrating, she said.

Bhattacharyya said her group’s annual celebration of Durga Puja has drawn 300-400 people in prior years, and they often come from places like West Bloomfield, Novi, Troy, Ann Arbor and Canton.

“We are pretty much scattered all over,” she said.

Bichitra President Sharbari Joshi described Durga Puja as a joyous 10-day festival that honors Durga, a demon slayer and goddess of strength and who is depicted as having 10 arms. This year, the entire celebration lasts from Sept. 27-Oct. 6, though its spot on the calendar changes year to year due to the lunar calendar.

Joshi said many Bengalis regard Durga as a reminder of inner strength that helps people fight for good and defeat evil. But Joshi pointed out that the story of Durga Puja alludes to the goddess’s maternal side, too.

“Every year during the season of autumn, Durga comes to her parents’ home along with her four children Ganesh, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kartik, who represent Wisdom, Knowledge, Prosperity and Beauty,” she explained in an email.

“Since this much-awaited visit by the full family takes place once a year … this event is associated with so much festivity and celebrations.”

Bhattacharyya said the holiday season contains many festive elements; people buy new clothes and give gifts. Another custom is building a statue of the goddess, and Bhattacharyya said an image will be unveiled in West Bloomfield during the ceremonies.

“The statue has come from India. It’s going to be gorgeous,” she said. “Then we have a priest who is going to come down to perform the ritual.”

Bhattacharyya said food is offered to Durga, and a drum-like instrument called the dhaak is beaten. Other events at the high school will include singing and dancing, such as an Oct. 2 Indian Dance Creations demonstration by the Tanusree Shankar Dance Company.

Bichitra Inc. will run its Durga Puja festival Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at West Bloomfield High School, 4925 Orchard Lake Road, in West Bloomfield. To learn more about event times and ticket prices, visit www.bichitrainc.com.
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.