{"id":21745,"date":"2016-10-10T17:42:34","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T12:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=21742&preview_id=21742"},"modified":"2016-10-10T17:42:34","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T12:12:34","slug":"elting-pot-mumbai-celebrates-durga-puja-with-decked-up-pandals-dhaak-and-sindoor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=21745","title":{"rendered":"elting Pot: Mumbai celebrates Durga Puja with decked-up pandals, dhaak and sindoor"},"content":{"rendered":"
WHILE MUMBAI has always celebrated Navratri grooving to Dandiya beats, slowly but surely, the sounds of the \u2018dhaak\u2019 too are catching up. The city is known to celebrate every festival with zeal, and over the past few years, its Bengali community has been organising bigger, more elaborate Durga Puja celebrations.Thakur Village in Kandivli East is one of the areas where several pandals are set up this season, and a popular organiser is Hillside Residents Cultural and Welfare Association (HRCWA). \u201cWhen we started off, we didn\u2019t foresee the tremendous response our endeavour would get. Now that it is growing at such a fast pace,it feels good,\u201d says chairperson Sudipto Chaterjee.<\/p>\n

The organisation was set up three years ago with only 35 members, which has now increased to 150 and counting.
\n\u201cDuring the five days of the festivity, we all unite to keep Kolkata alive in our hearts. Durga Puja for us is not just a religious festival, but a celebration of life itself,\u201d says local resident Sulagna.<\/p>\n

The festival has typical sights, sounds and smells attached to it, close to every Bengali\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

In the centre of every pandal stands the majestic, 10-armed Durga slaying Mahishasur, surrounded by other gods. Conch shells are blown and plumed drums called \u2018dhaaks\u2019 beat, while the aroma of \u2018bhog\u2019, sweets and other delicacies hangs temptingly in the air.<\/p>\n

While the celebration is not on the same scale as in Kolkata, some Bengali Mumbaikars feel the crowd here is better managed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bhog is served to everyone in an organised manner without chaos, and celebrations are orderly,\u201d says a proud Bengali Mumbaikar, Joel Mukherjee.<\/p>\n

Surojit Sen Gupta, secretary of the Chembur Durga Puja Association, says, \u201cWe don\u2019t miss Kolkata during Durga Puja anymore. Mumbai, with its vibrant people, has helped us recreate the celebrations. In an effort to keep our culture alive, we have brought artisans from rural Bengal to work on our pandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

After nine days of festivity and devotion, the 10th day is marked by \u2018sindoor khela\u2019, where married women smear vermillion on each other and the goddess. The devotees then immerse the idol in a grand procession, with the hope of welcoming Durga again the next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: elting Pot: Mumbai celebrates Durga Puja with decked-up pandals, dhaak and sindoor | The Indian Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHILE MUMBAI has always celebrated Navratri grooving to Dandiya beats, slowly but surely, the sounds of the \u2018dhaak\u2019 too are catching up. The city is known to celebrate every festival with zeal, and over the past few years, its Bengali community has been organising bigger, more elaborate Durga Puja celebrations.Thakur Village in Kandivli East is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21745"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}