In the unprecedented cosmopolitanism of the US, where Indians are increasingly asserting their cultural identity, Durga Puja is now a part of the American Dream. Organising a grand celebration to welcome Durga and her retinue, all the while adhering to the traditions of Puja with sincerity, is no longer an impossibility in the US. Probashi pujas are no longer a low resolution projection of the real thing in Bengal. Some of them have become, in their own right, as fine an illustration of the greatest festival of Bengalis as seen anywhere in Bengal. The organisers of Durga Puja at Kallol of New Jersey know this better than most, for it is under their supervision that one of the oldest and biggest Pujas in the US is observed over three days, with more than 4,000 visitors attending every year.
Over the years, Kallol’s Puja has become the go-to place for Bengalis staying in New Jersey and New York, with many others joining in from other parts of the US. As a 48-year-old club, Kallol has hosted the likes of Kumar Sanu, Bappi Lahiri, Pandit Jasraj, KK, among others, and is all set to have Shaan perform this year. With the aim of being the “pioneers in upholding our rich tradition and culture away from home”, Kallol’s Puja in 2023 is expected to be their largest yet, with My Kolkata as digital partner.
‘I don’t miss Durga Puja in Kolkata, because I can’t imagine being away from Kallol’s Puja’
“When Kallol was established in 1975, there were only three or four Bengali families in Jersey. So much so that we’d drive 30 miles just to meet with another Bengali if we happened to know they were here,” says Bhawani Mukherjee, one of the seniormost and founder members of Kallol as well as the head purohit of their Puja since 1987. “I haven’t seen a Durga Puja in Kolkata in the past 50 years. But I don’t miss it, because I can’t imagine being away from Kallol’s Puja,” smiles Mukherjee, who was told by Pandit Jasraj that watching Mukherjee conduct Puja “felt like being at Belur Math”.
After its formation in 1975, the same year in which Kallol staged Sharmila, a play directed by one of its founders, Ajit Rakhit, Kallol organised its first Durga Puja in 1977. Back then, it was a relatively small affair, with a few hundred visitors partaking in the festivities. Over the last few years, with the Puja being held at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Somerset, New Jersey, at least 1,000 to 1,500 people come in on each of the three days of celebration. “Very few Pujas abroad, let alone in the US, assemble for three days. But we have a fixed lineup every year between Friday and Sunday. All the guests that attend eat bhog that is cooked by our members in a kitchen at the same venue. Naturally, the vibe becomes that of one, big family,” says Pinaki Datta, vice president of Kallol.
Shaan, Sandeep Bhattacharjee, Prithibi and more lined up for 2023
For 2023, Kallol will observe Sashthi and Saptami on October 20, Ashtami on October 21 and Nabami and Vijaya Dashami on October 22. On each of the three days, there is also going to be a cultural programme, with artistes flying into Jersey from Kolkata and Mumbai. “On Friday, we have Prithibi, for whom this will be their first-ever show in the US. On Saturday, Nirmalaya Roy will be with us, as will Lopamudra Mitra and Joy Sarkar, who will be performing together after a while. Then, on Sunday, Sandeep Bhattacharjee will grace our event for the classical music segment while Shaan will dazzle us for what is commonly called Bollywood Night,” describes Datta. In addition to these artistes, Kallol will also have an in-house drama and dance musical as well as a kobir lorai (face-off between poets) designed along the lines of East Bengal versus Mohun Bagan.
“I’m proud to say that our Puja budget for this year has grown by almost 50 per cent, thanks to a rise in sponsorships and clientele. With more than 500 members, we’re going to have a phenomenal celebration,” says Arijit Chatterjee, president of Kallol. “As one of the oldest Bengali clubs in the US, we’ve been used to hosting at least five or six big events on the Bengali calendar every year, including Poila Baisakh, which we also regard as our foundation day. But ever since we acquired our own clubhouse in 2018 (the first socio-cultural club owned by a Bengali organisation in the US), Kallol has transformed into a year-long hub of activity, with a meet-and-greet happening every weekend, alongside film and match screenings, table tennis contests, quizzes and a whole lot more,” elaborates Chatterjee.
‘The willingness of the seniors at Kallol to pass on the baton to the juniors makes our club special’
The Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Somerset, New Jersey, which hosts Kallol’s Puja every year Facebook/Kallol of NJ
An integral part of Kallol is Medha, a subteam of women from within the club who first came together in 2006 to focus on charitable and social welfare projects. “The goal of Medha is to add a different dimension to our work at Kallol. Its purpose is twofold. First, to help the underprivileged in India as well as in our adopted homeland of the US. Second, to instil the right set of values in our next generation of Kallol members, who have been born and brought up in the US but should also appreciate their cultural roots,” says Ranjana Sanyal, member of Kallol’s executive committee. Every Puja, Medha puts up its own stalls at the Puja venue, which are usually managed by youngsters.
For Sanyal, the favourite parts of every Puja are the weekend mornings, when the women come together to cut fruits in the kitchen, exchanging gossip, tidbits and comments from the previous day’s programme. “It’s also when some of us, who are supposed to be on a fast, sneak in a donut or two!” laughs Sanyal, who highlights how “the willingness of the seniors at Kallol to pass on the baton to the juniors makes our club special”.
The bhog at Kallol’s Durga Puja, which left KK mesmerised in 2019 Facebook/Kallol of NJ
A good example of the intergenerational bonding at Kallol came in 2020, when Kallol’s Puja had to be scaled down dramatically in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We were worried about the safety of our seniormost members and chose to broadcast the Puja so that they could attend it virtually from their homes. At the same time, the seniors were the ones who knew how to execute every single element of the Puja in the way it should be done. I remember how one such senior, Dolly di, prepared an entire instruction manual for us so that we don’t slip up in celebrating Puja. For us, it effectively became a Puja encyclopaedia,” recalls Sanyal.
When Kallol stood by Dohar after the death of Kalika Prasad
The bonhomie and familial feel among the members of Kallol translates into support and solidarity towards their guests, including the performers they bring in. “There was this time when Dohar (the musical ensemble) was going to come and perform at our Puja. They were scheduled to do six or seven other shows in the US. But then, the tragic news of the death of Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya arrived. Soon enough, the other shows cancelled their events with Dohar. We did no such thing and stood by our commitment. We were ready to arrange for their visas and fly them in just for one performance because we believe in being there for people. Seeing our strong stand, a few other organisations eventually returned to the fold and joined hands to bring Dohar over. Their first show in the US happened at Kallol,” recalls Datta, who fondly remembers ushering in KK to the Puja venue in 2019, only to find the late singer mesmerised by the smell of bhog. “We thought that KK was going to eat at his hotel, but he and his family ended up having bhog with all of us and cherished it! When I found out that he had passed away in 2022, I couldn’t process it. His loss felt personal. I was at work and had to log out of a meeting because the memory of our time together from 2019 kept coming back to me,” narrates Datta.
Every year, before Puja begins, Kallol members are treated to a week-long series of Puja cartoons, which sets the mood for what is to follow. 2023 has been no different. As the Durga protima, which is brought from Kumartuli every five years, is decked up and visitor registrations for Puja start pouring in (details here), Kallol is ready for its best time of the year. A time that creates a slice of Kolkata in the heart of New Jersey.
