By: Shoubhik Bose
( Shoubhik is a Software Engineer working for a reputed U.S company, located in Bangalore.)
It was the first time that I was in a foreign land during the Durga Puja festival. Being a Bengali, Durga Puja, a 5- day festival back home, has always been special to me. My sister and brother-in-law living in New Jersey assured me that I would definitely get a glimpse (‘darshan’) of the Goddess.
The Durga Puja celebrations we participated in, was organized at East Brunswick, an hour’s drive from Guttenberg in New Jersey.
The venue was Hammarskjold Middle School
Before entering the hall where the rituals for the deity were being performed, we registered and made a donation to the community that organized the Puja.
Here in USA, the puja is held over the weekend – which means that the 5 days of Durga puja is mapped on Saturday and Sunday.
We were served ‘Prasad’ and dinner.
Even though Durga Puja is an Indian festival in general and that of the Bengalis in particular, the local school crew and volunteers co-operated wholeheartedly.
They celebrated the spirit of the declaration of independence by guarding our freedom to celebrate and practise a festival, foreign to their land.
The writing on display puts into words, the quintessential tradition of universal acceptance that the country has been so well known for.
Despite the lack of pomp and splendor that marks the festival back in India, it was pleasantly a novel experience.
