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Remembering Pujo Around the World: Part 4

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9 October 2024,  2 minutes min read

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An NRI’s Homecoming: Celebrating Durga Puja Across Borders

Me and my family has been living in San Francisco for the last 15 years. However, staying thousands of miles from Kolkata, doesn’t dim our Durga Puja spirit.

Our family joins the local Bengali association’s celebrations, transforming a rented hall into a slice of home. On Saptami, we wake up early to help with the cooking, preparing massive quantities of khichuri for the community bhog.

Throughout the five days, we catch up with other families from Bengal. Though we miss the grandeur of Kolkata’s pandals, there’s a special intimacy in our close-knit celebration.

On Dashami, there’s a bittersweet feeling we feel every year. A feeling of missing home, yet we are nonetheless grateful for this beautiful cultural connection we have created abroad.

 

Is someone you know celebrating Puja outside Bengal? Then share this with them and spread the essence of Puja with everyone.