Naveen’s Journal

Flash Movie Courtesy - http://www.friendskolkata.com/ Durga Puja, or better - Durga Pujo. You don’t need to be a Bengali by birth to know the significance of this great festival. People like myself, who have become de facto Bongs by the virtue of making Kolkata their home city, have long [...]';

Flash Movie Courtesy - http://www.friendskolkata.com/

Durga Puja, or better - Durga Pujo. You don’t need to be a Bengali by birth to know the significance of this great festival. People like myself, who have become de facto Bongs by the virtue of making Kolkata their home city, have long felt the fervour that prevails during the Pujas in this part of the world. The four days bring with them a lot more than joy, belief, celebration, shopping and what not. The city becomes the scene for the most electrifying display of artistry, faith, madness, populace and sheer awe, anyone can ever witness, anywhere. Thousands of pandals are setup in different themes housing Goddess Durga along with other Gods and Goddesses, and are thronged by millions of devotees from all over the globe all day all night. The craftsmanship is jaw dropping, illuminations - just scintillating, and crowds - maddening. Many people take this opportunity to have a vacation somewhere else, but its the bustling streets and lanes and by-lanes which reinstate the fact that India is a country driven by its culture, a culture so rich that in spite of all the wrong doings that blemish her almost every moment in some corner or the other, sanctity finds its way out to the open air and compels even the hard core atheists to simply stand and take notice!