Date:01/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/01/stories/2008100151170200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bengalis gear up for Dasara

Staff Reporter

Association has organised a four-day extravaganza from October 5

Dona Ganguli and Anup Ghosal will perform
Food will be provided to 3,000 poor people

Worship: A file photo of Durga puja festivities of the Bengalee Association in Bangalore.

Bangalore: Come Dasara and the members of the Bengalee Association cannot contain their excitement. This is the biggest and most lavish of all their festivals, to be celebrated with copious amounts of everything from food to entertainment.

At the R.B.A.N.M.S. grounds near Ulsoor lake, work on a pandal covering over 40,000 sq. ft has been going on for four days. The contractors building the structure have employed 100 labourers and are using over 50 tonnes of steel to put up the 20-ft-high rain-proof shelter. The structure has been divided into two parts, one for cultural programmes and another for pujas. The programmes will begin on October 5 and end on October 8.

Performances

“We have invited Dona Ganguli to perform this year,” says Swapan. K. Chakravarty, general secretary of the association. Also performing is classical singer Anup Ghosal, and to cater to younger audiences the rock band Dhumketu will perform. The association is also bringing a group of Gowdia dancers and others who will perform folk dances.

The four-day extravaganza will have 45 stalls dishing out food. There will also be a range of stalls selling arts and crafts items and puja paraphernalia.

“We are expecting over 2.5 lakh people to be part of the celebrations,” says Mr. Chakravarty.

“Not all the people who attend the programmes are Bengalis,” he says adding that the magnitude of the programmes has people wanting to be part of the spectacle. The association will also organise a community feast where 3,000 poor people will be provided food for three days.

“In a way the association has been celebrating Durga puja here for 60 years. We started out as a small bunch of people and only recently have we begun to do things on such a scale,” says Mr. Chakrarvarty.

The Bengalee Association is the only registered association of Bengalis in Bangalore, claim its members, and among the 30-odd Dasara celebrations organised by similar forums, this one promises to be the biggest.