BANGALORE: As the city is enveloped in the world of red and white and the bangles chime to announce the arrival of ‘Durga Puja’, Bengalis in the city are not lagging behind when it comes to celebrating the biggest festival of the year for them.Bringing a myriad of colours with it, Kolkata is brought to the city, in true Bengali fashion. And when one talks about anything Bengali, the pomp and splendour goes without even having to be mentioned.Bengali in Bangalore, an online community of Bengalis in the city, are organising Durga Puja in order to ensure that the people in the city, despite being so far away from home, do not lose out on celebrating the festival with their usual gusto. While there are many such associations in the city that do the same, what sets this one apart is the numbers they are calling in and the approach they have adopted to make it work. One of the major criticisms that Durga Puja receives every year is the severe environmental damage that it leaves behind.But the celebrations here seem to have adopted the theme of going green with most items used in the function being recyclable. The colours used are made from vegetable byproducts. Every person who attends the puja leaves with a sapling in order to their bit to make the city a greener place.The few plastic bags that are used are above 10 microns making them biodegradable. The most striking point about it however lies in the trouble taken to accommodate everyone. With separate rooms for expectant mothers and an association with a leading brand to create a playroom for tiny tots, they have left no room for worries when it comes to making sure that everyone has a gala time. Also, there are rooms for the elderly to rest and catch a breath without missing out on the festivities.With its inception in 2004 and 8,000 members to its credit, the forum dreams to cater to all the 11 lakh Bengalis that live in Bangalore.The founder of India’s largest youth based organisation, Sankat Basu, says, “As the youth we wanted to make sure we are having fun in a socially responsible way. We wanted to do our bit to the society but we also wanted to have fun while celebrating Durga Puja. That was the thought process behind this project.The expectations out of this are high and we hope, it can keep up with it.” One might assume that an event such as this would definitely cause a huge hole in the pocket. But that doesn’t seem to be the case as the organisers say that they have worked on a very low budget. Adding to which, they also have a tie-up with two NGOs working for the welfare of destitute children, one based in the city and one in Kolkata. Twenty five per cent of all proceeds from the Durga Puja will go to these NGOs.They are spreading their message using their advantage, the social media. Be it on Facebook or Twitter, they are slowly gathering huge numbers so that the youth of the city still stay connected to their roots.
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