Hyderabad: With dozens of Durga Puja venues across Hyderabad, Bengalis are pulling out all the stops to make the festival a grand celebration. While associations have traditionally focused on Bengal’s customs and cultural heritage, this year, many are going a step further, using the festivities to reconnect younger generations with their roots.




The Hyderabad Bangalee Samity (HBS), Domalguda, has put up a pandal with fabric decorations for the first time, following a tradition seen in West Bengal. “It is important that we try to keep it as traditional as possible. This way our children will understand our culture and heritage,” says Sumit Sen, president of HBS.




“For the first time, the Daaker Saaj (decorations behind the idol) is blue,” says Deepak Bhattacharjee, president of Bangiya Sanskritik Sangha. “We are using folk theatre to draw youngsters into the celebrations. We hope this will lay the foundation for them to carry our legacy forward,” he says.




Explaining the theme, ‘ Bonedi ’ (old Bengal), Sharmili Banerjee, cultural secretary of the Bengalee Cultural Association, Masab Tank, says, “We as a community should not forget our roots, and it is our responsibility to connect the next generation to them. Our heritage and traditions should outlive us.”




The Durga Puja celebrations organised by Hyderabad’s tech community are also growing in scale.




“With the number of visitors increasing every year, it became necessary to shift to a bigger venue. And what can be better than an open ground?” says Subhro Mukherjee, general secretary of the Cyberabad Bengali Association , Gachibowli . The association has organised its puja at World One School in Kondapur .




This year they have a 22ft tall single-framed Durga idol. At the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM), Gachibowli, Utsab Cultural has opted for an earthy theme. “Our theme this year is rural Bengal , and we got our Daaker Saaj directly from Burdwan. We are trying to showcase the character and flavours of the region through our puja,” says Indranil Aditya of Utsab Cultural Association.




For the Telangana Bengali Cultural Association (TBCA), which is organising its first Durga Puja at MCH Stadium, Ameerpet, the focus is on celebrating the festival in a homely, traditional way.




“The ground is usually used for Ravan Dahan on the ninth day of Navaratri. So, we decided to include that in our festivities too. This year, it is about connecting with the community, and we are keeping everything traditional,” says Christine Francis of TBCA.




“We have organised all events keeping our children in mind. We want them to know how celebrations were when we were children and help them stay connected to our heritage,” she says. “Durga Puja celebrations across the city have nearly tripled in the past 10 years, and the scale keeps growing,” says priest Ashish Acharya.