Bhopal: Bengalis in city all set to welcome Maa Durga; women decorate Kali Bari on tribal theme in President's honour 

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After a two-year gap, the Bengali community in the city is all set to celebrate Durga Puja in the traditional manner this year. The Bengali Durga Puja begins from Shashti (the sixth day of Navratri) and ends on Dashami (the tenth day). 

The five-day celebrations will begin from Saturday. Salil Chatterjee, general secretary of the TT Nagar Kali Bari Association said, "The goddess has given us the opportunity to celebrate the festival without any restrictions. And we propose to make full use of it." 

This will be the 66th year of Durga Puja -2022 celebrations at South TT Nagar Kali Bari. 

The decoration of the Puja Pandal will be themed on tribal art and culture. "This is our tribute to Droupadi Murmu, the first tribal President of India," he said, adding that, "our associationís women members are handling the decoration work." 

The idol of the goddess, in her Mahishasur Mardini form, will be decorated with Daker Saaj. Aarti will be performed in the mornings and the evenings. From the clay idol to bhog, everything will be eco-friendly. ìWe have decided to say a firm no to single-use plastic,î Chatterjee said.

The material for decorating the idol has been brought from Kolkata. Artists from the West Bengal capital will be performing in concerts every evening. During the day, the local Bengalis will showcase their talent in dance, singing, cookery and other competitions. 

The devotees will bid farewell to the Goddess with Sindoor Khela in Dashami. "Before Covid-19, around 50,000 persons used to visit our pandal during the four days. We are hoping for a bigger turnout this year," he said. 

Gautam Mazumdar, president of Kali Bari Association, BHEL, said that putting the bitter memories of the pandemic behind, 'we are ready to welcome Maa with full fervour.' 

He said that they would be paying tribute to the members of their association who succumbed to Covid-19. Bhandara will also be held on Ashtami and Navmi. "Bhog will be served to around 8,000 persons over the two days," Mazumdar said.