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Like
in the rest of
Bengal
, social life and community entertainment in Chinsurah
revolves around the major religious festivals spread over the
year. And there is no other festival to match the autumnal Durga
Pujas in pomp and splendor. Chinsurah
is known for its big-budget community Durga
Pujas with real-life replicas of the
national and international landmarks, exquisite idols of the
Goddess and her children, and magnificent decorative lightings
that flood the streets, lanes and
by-lanes of this old town. And, of course, no description of the
four-day-long Durga Puja
celebrations in Chinsurah will be
complete without mentioning the unending parties, the so called
street-side "adda" (chat)
sessions, night-long revelries, and the inordinate supply and
continuous consumption of drinks and food that will surpass even
the most ambitious spicy-food-lover's dream. Hordes of people
pour into Chinsurah from the nearby
towns and
its vast rural hinterland to join in this grand
party.
The
festivals of the Warrior God Kartik
in late autumn and Goddess of Learning Saraswati
in early spring are Chinsurah's
specialties. Both are marked by elaborate processions that
accompany the deities on their way to immersion in the river
Ganges
. And what a procession those are! Each entourage carries with
it a stupendous array of mobile lights and is accompanied by
thousands of revelers dancing to the wild tunes played by the
marching bands. As the festivities reach their dizzying finale,
it seems as though the folks don't want to miss out on any
opportunity to have a great time.
Chinsurah.com
is delighted to present to you the coverage of the Puja
celebrations in Chinsurah starting
with the Durga Puja
2002. The coverage is provided by a group of young Chinsurahites:
Trishit Banerjee,
Sumanta Bhar,
Bidhan Singha,
Prasun Roy, Shovan
Bandyopadhyay, Surya Jyoti
Roy, Koushik Ghosh and Goutam
Mondal. In their comprehensive coverage
they have included household and community Pujas,
cultural and charitable work done by the Puja
organizers, Pujas that go back three
centuries as well as the ones that started only a few years ago.
If you are from Chinsurah, chances
are that one of your favorite community Pujas
in the neighborhood is featured here.
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