Delhi’s Kashmere Gate Durga Puja marks 117 years
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In Delhi, members of the Bengali community have celebrated Durga Puja at Kashmere Gate for 117 years, beginning in 1906 with worship of a sacred pot before adding a clay idol in 1912.
The celebration started when Dr. Hemchandra Sen gathered the community, then small, and held the first Puja at Roshanpura Kali Mandir near Nai Sarak. The event moved locations several times, eventually settling at the Bengali Senior Secondary School in Civil Lines in 1968, where it continues today.
Arun Roy, a 77-year-old former student of the school, now oversees the creation of the Durga idol. He notes the idol’s unique “ek chala” style, depicting the entire family of deities under a single arch, has remained consistent since its inception. The idol makers come from West Bengal, while the event relies on multi-generational volunteers like Bhimal Kumar, who took over from his father, and Monish Mukherjee, a fourth-generation committee member.
The Puja has adapted over time, adding sponsors in 2009 to cover rising costs, but the core traditions endure. Each day, the celebration provides a community meal, or “bhog,” to around five thousand people, with ingredients donated by members. Organisers plan to immerse the idol in a pond in Burari, using a bullock cart provided by the same man for the past sixty years, to comply with pollution guidelines.
They begin preparing for the next year’s event immediately after the current one ends.
