Kolkata: Durga Puja is big on the religious calendar but in Kolkata it is also a very social event, and everyone is invited.
The head of one of the most prominent pujas in south Kolkata - Chetla Agrani Club - has been a Muslim for years. The pandal is right next to a mosque.
Yasser Haider, Assistant Secretary of the Chetla Agrani Club, says, "Here is a pandal and just outside the boundary wall, a mosque. It is a good thing that people of all communities come together. That symbolizes that we are all together and united no matter what happens."
Chetla Agrani is also a frequent award-winner. Discarded tin drums and vegetable baskets adorn the pandal this time, impressing visitors with the message of recycling and harmony.
Pandal hopper Shiladitya Kar says, "I personally feel Durga Puja is not about religion but about people coming together from different walks of life. Not just Muslims or Christians."
Another visitor, Arka, adds , "No festival sees so much fellowship between communities as Durga Puja. Everyone works together and has fun together. I don't think Kolkata's Durga Puja is about Hindus or any religion. It is about everyone coming together."
The theme at Chetla this year is creation - of beauty from junk. Next year, the theme may change but not the message it has sent out for years of communal harmony.
The head of one of the most prominent pujas in south Kolkata - Chetla Agrani Club - has been a Muslim for years. The pandal is right next to a mosque.
Yasser Haider, Assistant Secretary of the Chetla Agrani Club, says, "Here is a pandal and just outside the boundary wall, a mosque. It is a good thing that people of all communities come together. That symbolizes that we are all together and united no matter what happens."
Pandal hopper Shiladitya Kar says, "I personally feel Durga Puja is not about religion but about people coming together from different walks of life. Not just Muslims or Christians."
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The theme at Chetla this year is creation - of beauty from junk. Next year, the theme may change but not the message it has sent out for years of communal harmony.
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