West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya's comments recalling the role of non-Bengali communities during the 1946 communal riots and alleging past restrictions on Durga Puja have drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, including the TMC, Congress, and CPI(M). Bhattacharya appealed for unity for peaceful Durga Puja celebrations, while opposition leaders accused him of divisive politics and distorting history.
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'Kajol has always been very particular about Nysa and Yug coming for the puja every year.'
Several Bollywood stars visited the Durga Puja pandal to pay their respects.
A division bench of the high court comprising Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee, while hearing a public interest litigation, said that no visitors will be allowed to enter the marquees. For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court ordered.
Rediff readers went pandal hopping and shared these pictures.
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho on Sunday arrived in Kolkata on a two-day visit.
Controversial wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel has been included in Bengal's Ranji Trophy squad for their season opener against Delhi at Kalyani, following his recent bail in a rape case. The squad also features India pacers Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep.
A Durga Puja pandal in New Delhi turns literature into art.
If the Puja as a brand can be marketed more effectively outside Bengal, even overseas, it might do wonders for the economy, says Atanu Biswas.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is Trinamool Congress's Bhabanipur bypoll candidate, of violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by participating in a programme where the West Bengal government announced a grant of Rs 50,000 to each Durga puja organising committee ahead of the state's biggest festival.
In the first of a two-part festive recipe series, we bring you traditional Bengali preparations to help celebrate Durga Puja.
He said designs for special range of saris will be launched before Durga Puja.
Supriyo Hazra tells us just what dishes you must try out during the nine days of Durga Puja revelry and shares with us some lip-smacking recipes.
Supriyo Hazra tells us just what dishes you must try out during the nine days of Durga Puja revelry and shares with us some lip-smacking recipes.
The four-day Durga Puja festival in West Bengal and other states ended on Thursday with people celebrating Vijaya Dasami which marked Goddess Durga's return to her husband's home.
A look at the star arrivals.
A comfortable temperature and a clear sky added to the joy of the festival of autumn, Durga Puja in Guwahati and other parts of Assam especially urban areas where hundreds of colourfully decorated and illuminated pandals are waiting to welcome the puja crowd over the next four days.
The organisers, however, remained unfazed, insisting it was in line with the 'communal harmony' theme chosen by the committee for this year's puja.
Briefing the media after a three-hour tour at the project site, Ravi Kant said the trial production would commence in June-July and after a month or two, regular production would begin. "Commercial production, that is the real thing, will start in October, around the Durga Puja time," he said.
Wearing his infectious goofy grin, 'Samba Magician' Ronaldinho cast a spell on the football-crazy denizens of Kolkata as his arrival for a two-day visit in Kolkata ushered in an early onset of the Durga Puja festival.
Dressed in traditional clothes, the couple offered prayers to Goddess Durga and also played dhaak, a musical instrument, as part of Durga Ashtami celebrations on Monday.
Rediff.com's Indrani Roy visits Pranab Mukherjee's ancestral home in Miriti, Birbhum district. India's President arrived here on Saturday to perform Durga Puja
Hindu temples in Bangladesh have been vandalised by some unidentified miscreants during Durga Puja celebrations, prompting the government to deploy paramilitary force in 22 districts after three people were killed and many others injured in riots, media reports said.
Rediff.com's Indrani Roy was the only journalist to attend President Pranab Mukherjee's ancestral Durga Puja celebrations at Miriti village in West Bengal, and is charmed by the sight of the Head of State play a gracious host during the festivities.
Durga Puja celebrations have begun and how!
Away from the political chaos in New Delhi, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is celebrating the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Miriti village of West Bengal's Birbhum district.
After the Covid-19 pandemic that derailed the economy since 2019, the Durga Puja festival in West Bengal is back with an estimated 20-30 per cent jump in festive spending. Retail sector is the key contributor to the state's Durga Puja economy which was Rs 32,377 crore in 2019, according to a British Council study conducted for the state government. Retail accounts for 85 per cent of the total puja economy and the rest is shared among pandal making, decoration, illumination, entertainment, advertisement, food & beverage and others.
Hearing an appeal submitted by Forum for Durgotsab, a division bench of the high court comprising Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee, retained its earlier order declaring all Durga Puja marquees no-entry zones and erecting barricades in front of the pandals to prevent visitors from entering inside in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the second of a two-part festive recipe series, we bring you traditional Bengali preparations to help celebrate Durga Puja.
Accompanied by her husband, Nusrat wearing a white and red pat saree and mask offered Anjali (flowers) on the auspicious Maha Ashtami day at the Suruchi Sangha pandal in New Alipore.
The present Puja is as much about having fun as it is tied in with bowing to the Mother Goddess.
The state that is soaked in the puja fervour, is all set to welcome Maa Durga on October 20.
Braving intermittent rain, hordes of people were seen flocking big-ticket Durga puja pandals in the city on Monday morning with little or no regard for social distancing norms.
A football friendly match between India and Brazil, featuring star player Vinicius Jr, saw a surprisingly low attendance at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium. High ticket prices and the ongoing Durga Puja festival are cited as the primary reasons for the subdued response, contrasting sharply with the usual fan frenzy for local derbies and past international events.
Take a look at the festive pictures.
Rani Mukerji's mother, Krishna Mukherjee, passed away after a brief illness.
