Rangoli, Dance and Bengali Delicacies

CHENNAI: Members of the Dakshini Society in Anna Nagar started

preparations for Durga Puja three months ago, planning the five-day

 cultural rendezvous that kickstarted on Tuesday with a puja performed 

for the goddess. For the over-100-member association, which has been 

celebrating the festival since 1995, it is a tradition to get both Bengali 

and non-Bengalis together for programmes ranging from dance, 

drama to drawing and quiz competitions, says Vikram Pal 

Chaudhuri from the Association.

Meanwhile, the Bengali Association, T Nagar, conducted pushpanjali

 for Durga matha, followed by the distribution of prasad on 

all the days till October 3. Anjaan Chakravarthy, president of 

the Association, said that the three important days of the festival 

are Saptami, Ashtami and Navami,which fall on the days 

October 1 to 3. While the first day is marked by Anand Mela

, which includes welcoming the goddess in a grand manner, 

on the last day, ladies apply vermillion on the idols as part of 

Sindhur Utsav, which denotes that matha is going back to her

 husband’s place, all happy, explained Chakravarthy.

Vikram said that more than the puja, the events marked a 

fun-filled fest, where members can showcase their talents 

through activities like Alpana, a rangoli competition, 

children’s and adult’s drama, and a dance tribute 

to doyens from Bengal like Rabindranath Tagore.

 The Association has gone on to invite artistes from 

Kolkata to engage the audience in the evening.

 I E  Naveena Vijayan

 01st October 2014