Indoreans tuck into Bengali food at three-day fest

Indore: As food lovers gathered at Bengali Club over the weekend to savour authentic Bengali delicacies, the community, which hosted the event, added another feather to its cap and took a big step towards bringing their culture closer to Indore. The three-day long food festival brought another important identity of the community to the city with singers from Bengal’s remote villages performing baul music.
Bengali Club this year is set to celebrate its centenary year with a host of activities and programmes.The club is one of the oldest in India which started with just 15 to 20 families. Now it has nearly 500 permanent member families.
“With higher participation of people, the events have also taken a larger form. We host two food festivals, Durga puja, Kali puja etc. and also invite artists, cooks, craftsmen and musicians from Bengal. This has only been possible through the support of all our families and community members,” Ambuj Dutta, cultural head of the Bengali Club said.
Bengali club began its journey in the city 100 years ago unlike Bengali Association which is in its 25th year of establishment. Operating mainly from Kali mandir at Sukhliya, Bengali Association too has progressed immensely and has brought together hundreds of Bengali families which actively take part in Durga puja preparations and celebrations.
“Bengali Association’s Durga puja is one of the largest in the state with major sponsors and a large crowd. The association finds its strength by collaborating with other groups such as Sharda Math and Ramkrishna Mission to host a wide range of events and give community members a chance to get together,” Partho Majumdar, president of Bengali Association said.
Bengali culture is also being celebrated by a large number of groups and associations in residential societies with Bengali families. It is also celebrated in areas with Kali temples such as Scheme Number 78 and at Bengali Square.
The community’s presence was first felt 85 years ago with a single durga puja celebration. This has now expanded to 12 such celebrations across the city.
The community’s presence can now also be felt through festivals and special events like Vivekanand Jayanti, Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birthday and Kali puja.