Durga in Deutschland
Germans are known for their never say die attitude. The small Bengali community who call Germany home have been influenced by this spirit. The Bengalis here organise Pujas in five major cities and keeping with tradition, on all five days and not just on weekends...
Whether you are on an office assignment or a family tour in Germany during the festive season, there is no reason to be crib about not being able to celebrate Durga Puja in true Bengali style. For the Puja here has similarities with that of Kolkata ~ be it in their Puja rituals or choice of Puja days.
Durga Pujas are organised in five places in Germany ~ Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Stuttgart. Bengalis living here prefer to celebrate for five days.
Indian Cultural Association (ICA), which was formed by the NRIs 17 years ago in Cologne, Germany, has been celebrating Durga Puja since its inception.
“Our organisation was formed by a small group of friends from India, who wanted to celebrate Durga Puja. When we first started, we had around 40 members and now we have approximately 300 members,” said Mr Barun Chatterjee, president of ICA.
In Cologne, Durga Puja is a full five-day programme from Sasthi to Dashami. Following the traditional path, the committee will organise various cultural events like dhunuchi naach, Kuchipudi dance, Kathak dance and flute recital that will see the participation of the committee members.
The first Puja in Berlin dates back to 1973 where it is also a five-day celebration. “It is not possible to bring the idol every year from Kolkata. So, we have worship the same idol for three to four years. The celebration makes us feel like we are back in Kolkata," said Mr Pronab Banerjee, coordinator of the Berlin Puja Committee.
Like every year, an attraction of Berlin Puja committee has been the recitation competition, Bharat Natyam performance, dhunuchi naach and dandiya by the Indians. The participation of the German counterparts has been an integral part of the Puja revelry.
“We always encourage local talent in the cultural event. The Puja is mostly attended by Bengalis, 30 per cent non-Bengalis and 10 per cent German and other European communities. We even follow the almanac and adhere to the timings in terms of performing the Puja rites,” said Mr Banerjee. As for the priest ~ he is flown in from the Bengali Cultural Association of London.
The Stuttgart Durga Puja Committee was formed in 1995 and the puja here is also celebrated for five days. Priests are brought from London to perform the Puja. Fruits, vegetables and other Bengali dishes are supplied by Indian restaurants during the celebrations. Mr TK Ganguly, member of Stuttgart Durga Puja committee said the puja here is of ghoroa type as there are not many Bengalis in Stuttgart. “My father took the initiative to start the Puja in 1995. We brought the idol to Germany from Kumartuli and have been using the same protima every year since. We organise cultural programmes where local artists sing Bengali and Hindi songs or play musical instruments like violin or sitar,” said Mr Ganguly.
The puja in Frankfurt is held at Bürgertreff Gutleut where it is a five-day event and so is the one held at Haus der Jugend in Hamburg.
n Aparajit Chakraborty
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