Gear up for Durgotsava

BANGALORE: R T Nagar Sarbajanin Durga Puja Samiti will conduct their fifth year celebration of Durga Puja which will be be inaugrated on October 2 at 6.30 pm by the chief saint maharaj of Bharat Sebashram Sangha.There will be a short programme where chairs and blankets will be handed over to the old age home of Mother Teresa.On all the days lunch will be provided to the visitors from October 3 to 5.There will be different competitions like recitation, fancy dress, sit and draw etc, for all age groups during the day. On October 4 from 1 pm onwards; one eminent artist from Radio one will give a performance.In the evening from 7 pm to 10.30 pm from oct ober 2 to 6, there will be cultural programmes including dance, songs, drama, magic show etc by their members, local artistes and artistes from Kolkatta.Around 4,000 to 5,000 visitors are expected to visit the puja mandap everyday.There are a number of corporate houses as well as commercial houses putting up food as well as non food stalls at the mandap.The venue for the Durga puja celebration is Patels Inn Club and Resorts, R T Nagar besides Sriram White House. Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of West Bengal,Bihar,Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tripura where it is a five-day annual holiday. In West Bengal and Tripura which has majority of Bengali Hindus it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but it is also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society.Apart from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Karnataka and Kerala.Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival in Nepal and in Bangladesh where 10% population are Hindu.Nowadays, many diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others.In 2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum