worship of the Hindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri in the Sanskrit language literally means nine nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or Dussehra. As in India, Navratri is celebrated in Houston with Daandiya and Garba events, where several generations of revelers dance in synchronised movements until late at night. The Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, the Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. Houston’s Durga Bari is the preeminent temple of Durga in North America, with people from surrounding cities and states making the pilgrimage here to participate in the festivities. As in previous years, head priest Dr. Bishnupada Goswami, assisted by a team of volunteer assistant priests, will perform the complex rituals that include invocatory and ceremonial practices
along with Vedic chants. Puja organizers have planned top notch entertainment, from Rabindrasangeet exponent Jayati Chakrabarti, to electronics gold-medalist turned music composer and artist Anupam Roy, and Jasraj Joshi, the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa competition winner. A bazaar-like atmosphere will recreate India in the Bayou City, with food stalls and a shopping plaza selling Indian clothing and the arts and crafts of India. There are also special events planned for kids. On the last day, there will be the immersion of Durga into water, a much-anticipated event of the annual ceremony. Thankfully, the many communities in Houston enjoy cultural diversity like no other city in the US, we embrace and celebrate differences, and we are eager to learn and to share our unique heritages. All are welcome to participate at Durga Bari and get the blessings of the Divine Mother.
Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, former President and Founding Trustee of Durga Bari, is a volunteer assistant priest at Durga Bari. A graduate of IIT Kharagpur, he is also helping organize IIT 2013 Global Conference, leading the marketing and publicity efforts. Chatterjee is a Director with SunGard Global Services, focusing on the energy and financial practices.