Bengali community plans online Durga pooja

Bengali In Bangalore (BIB) started as an online community in 2005 in the then popular social networking site ‘Orkut’. It then branched out to an independent website (bengaliinbangalore.org) catering to the needs of Bengalis in the City.

What sets their first celebrations apart from the others is how they have clubbed the concepts of religious festivities with the cause of going green and saving the environment.

The group has tied up with the Forest department and has procured 500 saplings to distribute it to visitors.

“The idea was to have a thematic pooja celebration. But not just some theme for the fun of it, but one that will help society. Religion should be used for such purpose,” says Varun Paul, secretary of BIB, who lives on Bannerghatta Road.

Varun, who came to Bangalore in 2007, feels that the fervour within the group is huge because 80 per cent of its members are in the age group of 25 to 30.

“We do not want to distribute the saplings to everyone at random, because, then many will simply throw them away. So, whoever asks for one will be given.”

Currently, the committee has around 5,000 members on the web sphere and more than 350 active members who have helped with setting up the pandal for the five-day festivities.

Within the budget of Rs 3.5 lakh, the members have managed to purchase a Durga statue painted using natural colours, provide food from ‘bhog’ to ‘adda’, create a cave within which an episode from the Ramayana is depicted and set up a stage.

“We took the help of a Bengali who brought natural colours from West Bengal and no paint has been used on the statue,” said Varun.

Also, the venue will have nine stalls but there will be no use of plastic within the area. “If people want to, they can bring their own bags but no stall will provide any plastic bag nor will there be any littering. We are strict on those terms,” said Shweta, another member of BIB.

Incidentally, 70 per cent of members online are IT and MNC employees. Every Bengali in the City can simply log on to the website and ask for help –– be it for finding a house for rent or tips on how not to get cheated by ‘autowalas’. The group was also the first to organise a Bengali Rock fest in Bangalore.

The Durga pooja celebrations will start from Sunday at BTM Layout Second Stage, opposite Udupi Garden, and continue till Thursday. Thousands are expected to participate every day from 8 am to 10 pm.