The Goddess Ascendant

The establishment of Durga Puja in the West was a grassroots phenomenon, driven by the desire of new immigrant communities to preserve their cultural heritage and create a sense of belonging in a foreign land.

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The first Durga Puja in London was organized in 1963. It was initiated not by a large institution but by a small group of young Bengali students who had been meeting for regular adda (informal conversations) and had previously organized a smaller Saraswati Puja. A clay idol (pratima) had to be specially commissioned and shipped from Calcutta (now Kolkata), and the owner of a newly opened Indian sweet shop donated the prasad (food offerings). Held at the Maryward Centre in Russell Square, this first puja attracted Bengalis not just from London but from as far away as Scotland and even mainland Europe, demonstrating a deep-seated need for such a cultural anchor.

A similar story unfolded in the United States a few years later. The amendment of US immigration laws in the late 1960s led to an influx of Indian professionals, who began to form close-knit communities. The year 1970 saw the first community Durga Pujas being organized in several major US cities. Among the most notable was the first puja in New York City, held at Columbia University and organized by the newly formed East Coast Durga Puja Association (ECDPA). These early celebrations were born out of a palpable sense of nostalgia and a longing to recreate the “back-home feel” of the festival.