As a Bengali from Kolkata now living in the Bay Area, Durga Puja is so much more than just a festival to me—it’s a homecoming of the heart.
Every autumn, when the sweet fragrance of shiuli flowers should be filling the air and the sound of dhak should be echoing through the narrow lanes of my childhood, I find myself thousands of miles away in California.
But here’s the beautiful thing about our community: we’ve recreated that magic, that sense of belonging, right here in the Bay Area.
The five days of Durga Puja represent the annual visit of Goddess Durga to her maternal home, and for those of us living far from Bengal, these celebrations become our own homecoming.
Each pandal, each community gathering, transforms into a little piece of Kolkata—complete with the familiar chaos of organizing committees, the last-minute rushes, the endless debates over cultural programs, and of course, the incredible sense of unity that emerges when we come together to celebrate our shared heritage.
