Tokyo Durga Puja

It’s short & sweet in Tokyo
The Bengal connection in Japan is mostly through Rabindranath Tagore and Santiniketan. Bengalis in Japan are a very small community and Durga Puja is the time for them to get together and celebrate the homecoming of the goddess in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Kasia Mill & Moumita Roy
KOLKATA, Oct. 2 : For a Bengali residing in Kolkata, the concept of one-day Durga Puja is almost unthinkable. But in Japan time constraints have forced the Bengali fraternity to accommodate their Puja celebrations within a day's time. But, the Bengali community leaves no stones unturned to make this day memorable for all, including their Japanese fellowmen.

“Japan is a place dominated by work culture. People over here hardly have time to spend with their families. That is why we organise Durga Puja for only one day. On this day, we observe all the rituals that fall between Sashti and Dashami,” Mr Sukhen Bramha said, member of Universal Puja Committee (UPC), Tokyo, Japan.

This year the Puja organisers, comprising businessmen, working people and large number of students decided to celebrate Puja on 5 October which is a Sunday and so more people would be able to a part of the Pujas. There are two main Pujas organised in Japan, one by an Indian Bengali community and the other, by a Bangladeshi community. Mr Bramha said that the people who attend the Puja organised by the Bangladeshi community include Nepalese as well. Besides, Japanese residents are invited to join the occasion. Although the protima that they worship every year, is brought all the way from Kolkata, they do not acquire a new one every year. The idol, this time, would be worshipped for the third time this year. However, UPC, that celebrated Durga Puja for the first time in 1997 tries to change it every two or three years. The problem is not just economical, as Mr Bramha explained, “The security in Japan is very tight and we have to face a lot of problems every time a protima is brought from Kolkata.” UPC tries to organise the Puja following the rituals as closely as possible. The community also arranges for platters for the people attending the Pujathat serve khichuri, pushpanno, typical Bangladeshi sweets and fruits. As for the members of Bengali Association of Tokyo, Japan, which will organise its 19th Durga Puja this year, this is the time when they greet their new members. Here they will welcome Maa Durga when Kolkata would have already bidden adieu to the deity. This community has decided to welcome the Goddess on 11 October, which is a Saturday. Members organise cultural shows on the Puja day. This year, a series of items would to be performed by a local community ~ agomani, colors of India ~ representing Indian folk, Rabindra Sangeet, a dance by children followed by songs of Lata Mangeshkar in Bengali and Hindi. Last but not the least, an Odissi performance by a professional Japanese group would be the prime attraction. Mrs Rita Kar, member of the organising committee of BATJ said: “We have to include several items in our programme which are not in Bengali as only half the population attending the Puja are Bengali. The rest are all non-Bengalis or a mixture of Japanese or other nationalities. This is the third year that BATJ will be worshipping the same idol made of thermocol or shola by M/s Gorachand Paul & sons of Kumartuli. Most importantly, the previous protimas have been adorning the Indian artifacts gallery in the Japanese Museums as immersion is strictly prohibited considering Japan's anti-pollution laws. Apart from a pizza dinner on Friday, Puja bhog will include khichuri with two curries, papar bhaja, chutney and sweets, which will be catered by an Indian restaurant.
source: the statesman