Visakhapatnam’s Bengali community celebrates Durga Puja with rituals, bhog and cultural programmes

By The Hindu Staff

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Visakhapatnam’s Bengali community celebrates Durga Puja with rituals, bhog and cultural programmes — Photo credit: The Hindu

Devotees offering prayers before the idols of Goddess Durga on the second day of Maha Saptami during the Durga Puja celebrations organised by the Bengali Association at One Town in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: PAUL NICODEMUS

Bengali families across Visakhapatnam are celebrating Durga Puja with rituals, bhog and cultural programmes, each association keeping alive its own history.

Durga Puja began as a private affair in the households of zamindar families in early Kolkata before evolving into a community festival, or ‘Sarbojanin puja’, in the early 20th century. Wherever a few Bengali families gather, the festival follows.

Bengali professionals moved to Visakhapatnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work in stevedoring, port construction and the Bengal Nagpur Railway. Today, several pujas are held across the city.

The Bengali Association, established in 1929, is the oldest association of a non-Telugu community in the city, said Arunabh Karmakar, a software engineer and member of the association. Dasara, he said, is “the biggest festival” for the community.

Originally published by The Hindu on Oct 18, 2026 Read the full article at thehindu.com

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