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Rohit Dasgupta Recreates Kolkata’s Durga Puja Spirit in London
Rohit Dasgupta grew up celebrating Durga Puja in Kolkata.
He now lives in London and helps serve as a councillor in Newham.
He still misses celebrating the festival in Kolkata.
In London, he visits several Puja gatherings over the festival days.
He also cooks Bengali food, especially fish, for friends and family.
On Mahalaya, he plays a traditional radio programme that reminds him of home.
He says these customs help London feel a little more like Kolkata.
The part he misses most is how the whole city celebrates together.
Newham councillor and professor Rohit Dasgupta says community, rituals, food and Kolkata shape his experience of Durga Puja.
He left Kolkata in 2009 and attends several Puja celebrations across London each year.
His London festive meals include fish, chholar dal, chicken and shutki, shared with friends and family.
On Mahalaya, he plays Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s Mahishasuramardini at home, a ritual he remembers from childhood.
Dasgupta says he would bring Kolkata’s diverse, city-wide sense of community to London if he could.
- Who
- Rohit Dasgupta, a Newham councillor and professor.
- What
- He recreates Durga Puja traditions in London while missing Kolkata’s celebrations.
- Where
- London, including Pujas in Ealing, Mile End and Hampstead; his childhood celebrations were in Kolkata.
- When
- During Durga Puja; he observes the Mahalaya ritual as well.
- Why
- The rituals, food and community help him maintain a connection to Kolkata and its Puja traditions.
Key facts
- Person
- Rohit Dasgupta, councillor in Newham and professor
- Moved from Kolkata
- 2009
- London Puja locations named
- Ealing, Mile End and Hampstead
- London celebrations attended
- He tries to visit at least four or five Pujas over four or five days.
- Mahalaya tradition
- He plays Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s Mahishasuramardini at home.
- Festive foods mentioned
- Ilish, boal, katla, rui, chholar dal, chicken and shutki
- What he misses most
- Kolkata’s diversity, syncretism and city-wide sense of community
Quotes
Rohit Dasgupta
Newham councillor and professor describing his Durga Puja traditions
“What makes Kolkata Puja so unique is its diversity, its syncretism and its community. The entire city stops, and everyone is celebrating. If I could take that feeling to London, that would be something.”
telegraphindia.com
“For me, Puja always started with Birendra Krishna Bhadra. I still do that. When I wake up on Mahalaya, Mahishasuramardini plays all over my flat. It makes it feel like Kolkata.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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