Mira Bhayandar: In continuance with their 42-year-old annual tradition of bringing to life spiritual and cultural identities by creating spectacular replicas from across the length and breadth of India to mark the Durga Puja festival, volunteers of Banga Sangha a socio-cultural-religious organization have recreated a majestic palace temple of Kolkata in Bhayandar this year.
The magnificent 70-feet-high eco-friendly structure has been set up in the RNP Park area of Bhayandar (e) by a team of artisans who have come all the way here from Kolkata. Adding to the grandeur of the palace is the majestic idol of Maa Durga sculpted by renowned sculptor Ravishankar Das.
The festivities started off on 9, October and will end on 13, October in the twin-city which has a sizeable population of Bengalis.
“The festival has become an ideal platform not only for Bengali's to come together as a close-knit community. But devotees irrespective of caste, creed, and religion actively take part in the festivities,” says Rathin Dutta.
“Apart from celebrations replete with cultural shows and religious sessions, we as part of our social responsibilities, also organise free medical check-up camps while extending a helping hand to physically challenged and underprivileged children,” said Montu Jaloi.
The special attraction of this festive event continues to be the Dhaki’s a group of traditional drummers from Bengal who have managed to make devotees dance to their acoustic tunes. Almost instantly the drummers strap their "dhak" around their shoulders and hit it with the sticks, people gather and start swaying, swinging, and clapping to the booming yet soothing music.
