Celebrations in a distant land

It is jokingly said: "If there are two Bengalis, there will be three political parties. If there are three Bengalis, there will be four Durga Puja celebrations". Jokes aside, the San Francisco Bay Area in California on the western shores of the United States will come alive this month-end with the rhythms of the 'dhaak', the smell of flowers and incense, the beats of the 'dhunuchi naach' and the melodious Bengali songs by artistes, both local and those from Kolkata who fly down at the invitation of the Durga Puja organisers here. The celebrations this year have got a fillip with the recent announcement that UNESCO has granted the 'Intangible Cultural Heritage' status to Bengal's Durga Puja celebrations, and the organisers across the world are upbeat about it.

There are about 3.8 lakh Bengali-speaking people, both from India and Bangladesh, in the entire United States, as per the latest census. Most of them are located in the New York/New Jersey area in the eastern part of the country. But a substantial number of Bengalis also live in the Silicon Valley (the Bay Area) in northern California which is the global hub for high technology and innovation. Companies such as Apple, Google and Intel are all based here. There is a strong presence of the community in the San Francisco Bay Area, particularly in the East Bay, which is reflected in the spread of about a dozen clubs or associations which have been celebrating Durga Puja for several years now. These community associations also host various cultural events ranging from Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti performances to theatre and movie shows of stalwarts like Satyajit Ray and other cultural programmes on a regular basis. One of them has been running a school that teaches the Bangla language. The latest has been the opening of 'Dishari' — a free Bengali public library in the Santa Clara area. Almost all these activities are run on a voluntary basis. Like everywhere else, these celebrations and activities were either cancelled or held on a subdued note for the past two years due to the pandemic. But now it seems that all the deprivations of the past two years will be taken care of. The organisers are scaling up the celebrations to the pre-pandemic levels, though with all protective measures in place. The rise in the number of Bengali-speaking people in the Bay Area, their enthusiastic response, the past experience of organising the Puja and related events and the close-knit groups of volunteers are common factors that help in holding successful celebrations.

While it has been the age-old practice to transport the Durga idols thousands of miles away from Kumartuli and other areas of Bengal, for the first time ever, an entire Puja 'mandap' (covered structure with pillars which houses the idols) has been erected and decorated in West Bengal and is being flown to California. The preparation for this has been going on for the past 2-3 months at Konnagar in Hooghly on the outskirts of Kolkata under the supervision of artist Sandip Chatterjee, The Millennium Post had reported some time ago. It is interesting that for the first time, an entire Puja mandap is being transported to a foreign country. The 'mandap' is being made in such a manner that it can be packed and flown to California. The club which is organising this entire operation is among the well-known ones — the California Bay Area Prabasi. The idols of Durga and other religious figures, made and decorated in an eco-friendly manner using jute and herbal colours, have already landed in California from Kumartuli. The 'mandap' will be installed around the idols when it arrives. "It is surely another feather in the cap of Bengal after Durga Puja in Kolkata has featured on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," Chatterjee had earlier told The Millennium Post. Most of the idols meant for shipping are made of fibre instead of the delicate 'shola', which is a dried milky-white spongy plant matter that can be pressed and shaped into objects of art. The fibre idols are of a finer quality, lighter in weight and more expensive than their traditional clay counterparts used in Bengal. Once made, they are packed in ply boxes and exported by ship or air. These idols are not immersed as per practice, but used for worship over the next several years.

Though, according to the Bengali calendar, the Durga Puja starts on October 1 and ends October 5, most of the celebrations here are being held on the last weekend of September 30-October 2. Bay Area Prabasi is one among those organisations that are holding the celebrations on these three days. Bay Area Prabasi is a non-profit socio-cultural organisation of Bengalis of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Puja this year is being organised by it at a mall in the Newark city of California. "This year, we are excited to unveil our new Durga Pratima and Mandap Decoration by Kolkata pandal artists to our members, guests and visitors," an organiser, who requested anonymity, said. He also said that besides local cultural participants, Bollywood singer Benny Dayal and vocalist-pianist duo from Kolkata, Sourendra and Soumyajit, will be performing at the Puja venue. Stalls to sell Bengali food, handicraft and other items are being put up at the venue. "Our five days, from Saptami to Dashmi, are celebrated between Friday and Sunday as people want to be able to attend it fully, meet each other, spend time, enjoy and attend office on Monday. The fact that different Bengali clubs organise the Puja on different weekends in the US, allows us to travel from one city to another, partly reliving the charm of hopping from one pandal to another like we do in Kolkata," said Tanuja, a homemaker who lives in Fremont.

However, a Puja being organised nearby in Newark (California) by another group, Pashchimi, will go on as per the religious calendar, from October 1-5. It is being held in a restaurant, like last year. An added attraction this time is that a noted Bengali singer and her band, 'Somlata and the Aces', will be performing here. Another popular attraction is the Puja organised by an all-women team in Santa Clara near San Jose. It is being organised by the team of 'WomenNow'. It is a women-only celebration in terms of preparation and arrangement and has been held since 2015. Since the Puja celebrations are not limited to worshipping but also comprise feasting and cultural functions, they require a venue with ample space to accommodate a considerable crowd. The successful organisation of the festival by 'WomenNow' has proven that nothing is impossible for the collective women power in overcoming all challenges and hosting a successful Puja. Then there is the 'Baybasi' club that organises the celebrations at a school premises in the Foster City of California. This year the event will see a musical night featuring the first runner up of ZeeBangla Saregamapa 2016-17, Supratip Bhattacharya. The cultural programme will also have performance by the first runner up of ZeeBangla Saregamapa 2016-17, Subhashree Debnath. While 'Agomoni' organises Durga Puja in San Ramon, another association known as 'Sanskriti' holds it in Newark town of California. Agomoni club says it wants the festivities to give the feeling of 'our home away from home' which has truly become "a melting pot of people from a variety of race, culture, and religion". Sanskriti is a cultural and charitable non-profit community body launched in Milpitas, California, in 1998. "We have a new Durga Idol which came all the way from Kolkata," an organiser here said, adding that the association can boast of another pioneering effort, though it is not connected with the Pujas. It is a day-long Drama Festival which has gained momentum and wide acceptance from people in and around the Bay Area and the neighbouring states. For yet another cultural association, 'Purba', located in the Mountain House area of the Bay Area, it will be the second year of Durga Puja celebrations. Besides these, there are a couple of temples like the Shiva-Vishnu Temple in Livermore (CA), which hold Durga Pujas alongside their routine worship and other religious activities.

While the excitement among Bengalis here to enjoy full-fledged Durga Puja festivities this year is really high as they have been deprived of it for the past two years, the events are being organised keeping all precautions in mind. All organisers have decided to put in place preventive measures to avoid the spread or resurgence of the pandemic. No matter how familiar are the beats of 'dhaak', the fragrance of 'shiuli' flowers, the taste of popular Bengali street food and the festive ambience of the cultural evenings, the Bengalis living here strongly feel drawn towards home this time of the year. Some of them even brave the odds to book last-minute tickets to fly back home, while the others strive hard to make the celebrations a success in order to get that homely feeling thousands of miles away.

Views expressed are personal