Just 100 more days to Durga Puja!

And here’s to this year’s Durga Puja, the largest street festival of the world. From the days of the Raj to the present days of theme Puja, the history of Durga Puja is almost 300 years old. It is said when Lord Clive won the Battle of Plassey, he wanted to celebrate and Nabakrishna Dev invited him to the extravagant Durga Puja held at Shovabazar Rajbari.

Even today the Rajbari holds on to its tradition and the puja is often known as the Company’s Puja in reference to the East India Company’s presence at the first celebrations. After the British attempt to divide Bengal in 1905, Durga Puja was even used as a Swadeshi tool by revolutionaries to bring in a feeling of nationalism. Even Netaji Subhash Bose while in British prison, wrote letters to his comrades to celebrate Durga Puja. This year the puja calendar is as follows. So mark your dates and celebrate.