Durgotsav 2016 conducted by Pujari !

Text & Pics:  Dr. Panchajanya Paul, MD



Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia which worships the Hindu goddess Durga. This festival is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of bright lunar fortnight. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. The real historicity of the event or its real symbolism is lost over time. Now it epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. This is especially significant for the Bengali Hindus who regard Durga as the destroyer of all evils and the protector of her devotees. Durga Puja is celebrated wherever there is a sizable Bengali Hindu community. As the Bengali diaspora spreads its wings across the globe, the Durga Puja has become a strong community builder and a social platform for Bengalis living abroad coming together. Atlanta USA, has a strong Bengali populations. There are about 5 different organizations celebrating Durga Puja each year in Atlanta now which includes BAGA, Pujari, Purbasha, Bangladeshi Pujo Association, and Atlanta Bengali Forum.




Pujari is a premier Bengali socio-cultural organization of Atlanta. It celebrated its 30th Durga Puja at the Berkmer High School, Lilburn Georgia on October 7th to October 9th. Pujari serves individuals and families in and around Georgia and strives to promote Bengali culture and heritage for the next generation of Indian Americans. Durga Puja is the biggest event organized by Pujari. Members prepare all year for these three days of grand celebration. The cultural event began at the Berkmar High School auditorium around 6pm on October 7th. The three days were full of fun, frolic and festivity. There were religious rites of worship to goddesses Durga along with poetry, song, dance, and drama.



Pujari has talent. There were shows by members who gave riveting performances on all the three days of the festival. Pujari kids presented the Ganer Tori which was directed by Mukta Kinta on the music by Tapas Sarkar on October 7. 2016. Then there was a program on the poems and songs of Rabindranath Tagore called Ananta Anandadhara by Deblina, Rinta, and Riya. There was a modern drama called Phirey Dekho by Banhi Nandi on October 8, 2016. Suparna Chaudhury presented ‘Dare to dream’ on October 8th, 2016. The star attraction for the Saturday night October 9th was the TOLLY2K – which featured the best of the Atlanta Idol singers and kid prodigies who sang to popular Hindi and Bengali songs. The highlight of the last day October 10th was the thought provoking drama critiquing the education system in the past and its evolution to the present times. Sudakshina and Anindya Mukherjee worked hard for 3 years on this project which involved research in India and U.S. The final product ‘E Sob Syllabuse Nei’ was a masterpiece which drew standing applause from the audiences.





Pujari also launched its yearly magazine Anjali 2016 during the occasion. It is a little magazine showcasing the literary talent of the Pujair members. It was edited by Baishali Dutta and contained poems, stories, essays, paintings, travelogue and many others published both in Bengali and English. There were contributions by Jaba, Arun, Mithu, Poorna, Sujay, Keya, Tapasya, Sambad. Bharati, Sutapa, Nachiketa, Kallo, Shubhasree, Sikha, Samar, Mrinal, Sudakshina, Jharna, Deepali, DJ, Rajib, Rishima, Shayna, Anandita, Srinika, Sahana , Anik and others.

A unique feature of Pujari is the missionary zeal with which it recruits and welcomes new members. Pujari president Soumya Bhattacharya proudly announced the addition of 25 new families to the Pujari team. All new members were greeted and called upon stage for the welcoming ceremony conducted by Prabir Nandi and Anusmita Sur. The new members were introduced to the cheers of the crowd and received a welcome gift.





In the end, the members of Pujari executive committee Soumya Bhattacharyya (president), Sushanta Saha, Manas Dey, Swati Dey, Neel Chatterjee, and Bulbul Banik thanked everyone for coming and making this event a great success. Soumya said that Pujari has gained more than 25 new members this year. Other members of the Pujari committee Tumpa, Malobika, Agniswar, Baishali, Prabir, Nachiketa, Ujjal, Prosenjit, Suraaj, and Anusmita worked hard and deserve full credit. Pujari Board of Directors – Rahul Ray (chairperson), Abhijeet, Anindya, Vikram, Saikat, Kallol, and Ashok congratulated the executive committee for an excellent job and promised another great event next year. In the end everyone was happy. Friends and families hugged each other, and wished ‘Shuvo Bijoya’- the Bengali greeting for victory and good luck.






Dr. Panchajanya Paul, MD, ABIHM, ABPN, is an American Board certified - Child, Adolescent, and Adult psychiatrist. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. He holds adjunct faculty position at Emory University School of Medicine; University of Georgia & Georgia Regents University, and University of Central Florida School of Medicine. He is a freelance writer who lives in Atlanta. He is a new member of Pujari.