Devi family

Durga in the middle with here children, from left to right - Ganesha, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik. Works of art, today there are a many competitions to see who can make the best idols. And competition is fierce! 

Place: DELHI

It's that time of the year again - chuti from office, lots of food, pandel hopping, all kinds of finery, mughlai porota, parar baccha der natak, prosad bitoron, raate cinema dekha, shokaler anjoli and, I almost forgot, the customary nod to Durga and her progeny.

Durga Pujo is the most anticipated time of the year for Bengalis, wherever they are. It is held usually in October, and exact, as every date in the Hindu calendar, differs from year to year. 

This is a glimpse of the devi in a pandel in Delhi's Dwarka Sector 4. Such temporary idols of the the goddess spring up four days right across the city - there are thousands now, and all over the world where there are Bengalis, or Bongs. 

For those who enjoy it, these are four days of bonding as few other communities experience it. They look forward to it the entire year, and in less materially prosperous times, it was the time of the year when new clothes were bought and worn, new activities undertaken as it was an auspicious hour. And for some, it was also the time to go on vacations as a month long holiday in Bengal meant freedom to travel! 

Kolkata of course is where the biggest celebrations are, and the city grinds to a halt during those four days. There are thousands of pandels, and people constantly travel to see idols in different pandels, visit relatives and friends, renew bonds and come together to celebrate the goddess and each other.