Durgapuja around the world

Undoubtedly autumnal Durgapuja is the biggest festival of Bengalee Hindus all over the world. The message of the advent of Durgapuja is heralded through Mahalaya, but long ahead of Mahalaya preparations begin. It is established that habitation of Bengalee Hindus is no more confined to Bangladesh and India only, but they are now spread out all over the world. Rabindranath Tagore has written, "The West has opened doors/brought gifts from there.”  As emissary of Emperor Akbar II, Raja Rammohon Roy was the first passenger to the west (England) in 1830, and since then the number of Bengalee Hindus has gradually increased abroad.  Not only the west, but also the doors of the east are open, and many Bengalee Hindus have entered through those doors.
In Treta Yug, when Goddess Durga was invoked in autumn by Ramchandra to destroy the demons far ahead of the regular spring schedule, apart from Hanuman and the monkeys, the number of devotees of Goddess Durga was very few. Those days have elapsed long ago, and the number of devotees now is uncountable all over the world. Referring to logic, slanderers may say that when the quantity of devotees increases, the quality of devotion must decrease, but that is a different question. Even Goddess Durga herself probably could not imagine that not only from Kailash to this world but also in the future, overcoming the complexities of passport, visa and immigration, she would have to fly or float abroad to get worship from devotees. Is it so easy to ignore the call of devotees?
In Dristipat Jajabar has written, "When two united Britons establish a club, two Scotches open a bank, and two Japanese start a secret society, but what do two Bengalees do?" They quarrel to a greater extent, but they do another thing. They establish a Kalibari.” No doubt he has referred to Bengalee Hindus. Because of the physical appearance (probably) of Goddess Kali, it is not easy to establish a Kalibari abroad, but many temples have been established, and Durgapuja has been widely introduced. Bengalee Hindus, who left their motherland for different purposes, have acquired that ability to observe their main festival there, but due to geographical location, the schedule of Durgapuja abroad does not always remain similar to that of Bangladesh or India. The behavioural difference between Hindus at home and abroad is naturally different. We have some idea about Durgapuja of this subcontinent, but let us see how, far away from motherland, Bengalees and Hindus observe Durgapuja.
In the United Arab Emirates, a desert state, Durgapuja was first introduced in the oasis city of Abu Dhabi in 1985 at a Bengalee Hindu’s house. Along with the increase of the number of participants, the place was shifted to Abu Dhabi Social Club, but due to some unknown reasons, the puja came close in 1990. After a long interval of 17 years, it resumed in 2007, which is still continuing.
The relation between the eastern part of this subcontinent and Japan is almost 155 years old. Buddhism reached Japan in the 6th century. Rabindranath Tagore was very much interested in Japanese culture. The relationship of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with Japan is needless to repeat. In Japan there are many associations which are known as Indo Nippon Societies. Among those, the oldest one was established more than 100 years ago. Connectivity between Japanese and Bengalees was established mainly through Shantiniketan and Rabindranath. Many educated young Bengalee Hindus are working in Japan in different sectors like education, business, engineering, consultancy, banking, insurance, financial institutions, etc. The Bengalee Association of Tokyo, Japan, an association of Bengalees living in Japan, completed its silver jubilee in observing Durgapuja in 2014. Apart from puja, they publish a very attractive souvenir named Anjali, but as they have no fixed place, Durgapuja is held in an auditorium or a convention hall. Instead of 4/5 days like in Bangladesh or India, Durgapuja in Japan is held for a single day, i.e., dashami, in a co-ordinated and well-organised way. Ahead of puja registration is essential to avoid complexity.
There is no environment nor opportunity to prepare idol and use flowers of Bengal in Japan, but Japanese flowers are used successfully to celebrate Durgapuja; Bengalee sweetmeats are available. There is no scope to play Dhak in Japan, which is an essential concomitant of Durgapuja, but the playing of Dhak is exhibited through multimedia. Durgapuja is cosmopolitan in Japan, and everybody contributes systematically.
Durgapuja ends with immersion of the idol, but due to strict environmental laws, there is no scope for immersion in Japan. For this reason and to avoid the hazards of bringing an idol from India every year, the idol is preserved in an air-conditioned store. Next year it is used again, and after 2 or 3 years, Goddess Durga gets her shelter not in any temple but in a museum.
Very few Bengalees live in Hong Kong, one of the most important cities of trade and entertainment in the world, but they formed the Hong Kong Bengalee Association in 1998. As per the constitution, it is an association of Bengalee Hindus living in Hong Kong. Irrespective of place of birth, any Bengalee Hindu living in Hong Kong is eligible to become a member of it. At present more than 100 Bengalee Hindu families are members of this association. With a view to nourish and expand Bengalee culture, this association introduced Durgapuja in 1999. Since then they celebrate Durgapuja every year according to the Bengali almanack, and a Brahmin is flown from Kolkata. The duration of Durgapuja in Hong Kong is 3 days, and not only Hindus but also people of all communities join this festival spontaneously. Even Laxmipuja is held after 3 days of Durgapuja. Apart from it, a meeting of unity is also held within a fortnight of Bijaya Dashami.
Many Indian Hindus live in the islands of Bali and Tenger in Indonesia. Durgapuja is not their main festival, but Sindhi and South Indian Hindus have built temples in Jakarta and Tangerang. Almost all of those are Durga temples, and Durgapuja is their main festival. Durgapuja of the Sindhis ends on the 8th tithi through holding havan (fire sacrifice) and naari seva (feeding young girls), but Durgapuja of South Indians is almost similar to that of Bengalee Hindus. Dashami (concluding day of Durgapuja) of the Bengalee Hindus is known as Dashera to the South Indians, but there is a difference also. In Durgapuja of Bengalee Hindus, the idol of Ravan in the shape of Mahishashur (the Buffalo Demon) fighting with Goddess Durga is very common, but the ten-headed Ravan is never seen. If so, the terrible fight between Goddess Durga and the ten-headed Ravan could certainly be a very enjoyable one.

The writer is a former Commissioner of Taxes