Kheyal loosely translates into the happy whimsies of the mind. A kheyal can make many beautiful things, including Durga Puja in Chicago. Eight Phd students from Bengal at the University of Chicago and their yearning for home gave birth to Team Kheyal in 2023. The group has since successfully organised two Durga pujas, Vasant Utsav, Bengali New Year, and a few other events that uphold and celebrate the diverse cultural fabric of India.
Team Kheyal at the Durga Puja celebrations 2024 in Chicago
A brainchild of Soumik Ghosh, a fifth year PhD candidate and a few others, Kheyal today is a mini event management team running logistics, food, social media, operations, decoration, and cultural quotient, taking the celebrations a notch higher with every production. My Kolkata had a freewheeling chat with the grad students as they were preparing for Durga Puja 2024 at the Ida Noyes Hall on the University of Chicago campus on October 19 and 20.
Finding home and the many firsts…
It may be the season of kaash phool and many pujos in Bengal, such is not the sight in Chicago. But the love for one’s roots and the search for a new home can transform a foreign land into a mini Bengal. While last year was all about making a debut in organising Durga Puja, this year Team Kheyal attempted a theme puja.
The theme for 2024 was Sekaler O Ekaler Pujo (Durga Puja then and now). The theme aimed to be a time capsule giving a glimpse of Durga Puja at the bonedi households of Bengal The contemporary version of Durga Puja that shifted from barir pujo (Durga Puja within the confines of home) to parar pujo (the neighbourhood Durga Puja) and then to the now popular theme puja was captured in this year’s celebrations of Kheyal.
The Durga idol exported from Kumartuli to Chicago
“In recent years, many pandals in Kolkata are more like temporary five-day or 10-day museums. We have also collected antiques and made posters that have pictures of the antiques, describing them, so people who weren’t born in Bengal or were not familiar could read the posters and get to know about them,” shared Tannistha Mondal, a second-year Phd candidate.
Snippets of the theme ‘Sekaler O Ekaler Pujo’
This year’s theme was conceptualised by Sulagna Ghosh, a third-year Phd candidate, and Tamsuk Paul, a fourth-year Phd candidate. “The central idea of this theme is the emotions of the Bengalis. Durga Puja is close to our heart and it entails emotions. We wanted to show that while many things have changed, the emotions about Durga Puja never changed,” said Tamsuk.
Trying hands at making an idol of ‘Maa’
Necessity indeed is the mother of invention. When Team Kheyal decided to organise Durga Puja in Chicago for the first time in 2023, among many primary impediments was the logistics about the idol. That is when Tannistha Mondal, who is also the social media lead of Kheyal and Sulagna Ghosh, who leads the decoration team, joined hands to make an idol of Devi Durga from clay.
The clay idol made for the debut Durga Puja of Kheyal in 2023
Tannistha came to Chicago ahead of Durga Puja of 2023 and found friends who were keen to celebrate the biggest carnival of Bengal in a faraway land she was yet to be familiar with. “I saw how everyone loved and missed Bengal and the Durga Puja. When we did not have the funds, we had the zeal that there will be Durga Puja,” reminisced Tannistha. What followed was procuring clay and sculpting Maa. The idea was to make a traditional Durga idol with daaker saaj. Joining her was Sulagna, and while shola (pith) was missing in Chicago, white paper served for the decoration.
“When Tannistha and I visited Kolkata during summer this year, we found a few new articles about sculptor Mintu Pal of Kumartuli who has exported Durga idols before. We visited his studio and placed an order for an ekchala traditional idol,” shared Aabesh Bhattacharya, a fifth year Phd student. He is also the secretary of the club. While Tannistha’s clay idol now adorns the wall of Abesh and Tannistha’s living room, this year’s idol will be preserved for next year’s celebrations.
‘Bhuri bhoj’ and celebrating Bengal’s culinary bonhomie
The menu is also in sync with the theme — Sekaler O Ekaler Pujo. The two-day long Durga Puja celebration had traditional delectables like basanti pulao, chhanar dalna, and traditional sweets representing the yesteryear on October 19. The next day had new age favourites like biryani and kebabs, which are the more popular choices in today’s time. The team found Bengali home chefs in Chicago running catering services, who helped with the Bengali spread.
The festive fare this year
Among the Durga Puja elements, bhog was a part of the plan, cooked by a non-Bengali Indian national who cooked for approximately 130 people in 2023. This year, the head count for bhog has gone up to almost 190 people.
The milieu of many cultures
“When we formed Kheyal, the main idea was to share it with everyone. Our events are attended by non-Bengalis and the natives of Chicago,” said Soumik Ghosh, the president of Kheyal. The events organised by this team are also lauded by their professors, who do not hail from India and make it a point to visit. “They get to know more and more about Bengal through these events. For Bengalis, Durga Puja is not really a religious festival but a cultural one. Hence, we decided to focus more on the cultural aspects through the celebrations” further explained Soumik.
Cultural performance and (right) attendees at the Durga Puja cultural evening
Musical chair, who can have the maximum number of sweets or blowing the conch shell (shankh) — the afternoons had nostalgic games planned to incorporate a bangali para vibe this year. Poetry, music medley, dance, elocution made the evenings fun-filled for the attendees. The Sekaal and Ekaal theme was kept in the cultural programmes too with the first day dedicated to classical and semi classical music and the next day dedicated to band music, modern and upbeat performances. Team Kheyal’s main motto has been to form a community in Chicago that is not exclusive to Bengalis and where the cultural tenets of Bengal are celebrated and shared with others. “People of all religion, caste, creed, and beliefs are welcome here,” reflected Tamsuk.
Kheyal celebrates Vasant Utsav in Chicago, where traditions of Bengal are celebrated. In 2023, the team created a Santiniketan-style alpana. “Vasant Utsav celebrates colours, and the alpana was made on a red background with yellow, orange and white colours,” recalled Sulagna. Alpana is a constant in the celebrations, and Sulagna and Tannistha helm the artwork for both Vasant Utsav and Durga Puja.
A non-traditional ‘pushpanjali’ organised by Kheyal, celebrating the cultural opulence of Bengal
The Durga Puja organised by Kheyal did not have a priest. There was a pushpanjali performed by a Kheyal member, and percussionists-turned-dhakis to ushered in the festive spirit. More than 200 attendees visited the Durga Puja organised by Kheyal this year. With mishti mukh, group photos, and celebrations galore, Team Kheyal curated Durga Puja in a different time zone, praying in unison — Aaschhe bachhor aabar hobe…
