Durga Puja is an annual festival in South Asia that celebrates the worship of the Hindu goddess, Durga. The festival is the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society that takes place annually over a period of six days. At the end of six days, the idol is taken out of homes and places of worship, in a procession amidst loud chanting, drumbeats and dancing. The idol is immersed in the holy river which symbolizes the departure of the goddess from her maternal home to to reunite with her husband.Durga Puja celebrates the power of good winning over the evil. To describe it in words simple for the western world – Durga Puja to the Bengali community is what Christmas is to Christians. Or like my Bengali friend says ‘It’s like Mardi Gras minus naked women’
