Prabasi Bengali Association – Khopoli Bengali Association

Durga puja is not limited to Bengal or Bengalis. The festival of joy is celebrated worldwide and the reason to welcome Maa paints a bigger picture of believe where the good will always thrive over the evil.

‘Maa Asche’ for Bengalis is synonymous with happiness as the idol of goddess Durga makes way to our home amongst the dhak. Here is our story of how we began and continue to celebrate the arrival of Maa Durga every year…

History of Prabasi Bengalee Association:

8th January, 1989 witnessed the inception of an idea amongst the resident bengalis in Khopoli of bringing Maa close to home and celebrate Durga Puja in Khopoli. Prior to this, Bengali residents of Khopoli attended Durga Puja in Lonavala which was started in the year 1971. The Durga Puja celebration in Lonavala attracted Bengalis from nearby towns where a majority came from Khopoli. Back in the day the travel from Khopoli to Lonavala was a big task in itself but as they say there is nothing that can stop a ‘Bengali’ who is away from home and desires to get a glimpse of Maa Durga. The thought of having a Puja in Khopoli was invoked, and lingered in the minds of all.
The prayers were answered with the first Saraswati Puja that was organized in 1985 at Maitra Da’s house. Late Shri Prabir Kumar Halder took special initiative in making this Saraswati Puja celebration happen. That year Saraswati Puja was celebrated with great joy and happiness.
The Saraswati Puja celebration boosted the sense of unity and the club members started meeting once in a month at different members residence, who hosted the meeting at his/her individual capacity without taxing the club economy. So during one such meeting a topic/question was broached which almost everyone had in their mind: ‘Why not have a Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Khopoli itself?’
The discussion soon accelerated to a meeting attended by all Bengalis of Khopoli. On 8th January 1989, the gathering unanimously agreed to bring the Goddess home to Khopoli.
Soon thereafter the preparations began under the guidance of Late Shri T.K. Bhattacharya, Late Shri N.C. Chatterjee, Late B.C. Banerjee and Late S.R. Saha. All of this lead to the emergence of ‘Prabasi’ club with approximately 40 families under its banner.
Since it was the very first time, the planning for the Puja began way ahead from the month of July itself. Every arrangement required planning, management and actual execution which included collecting donations, ordering idols, looking for space to conduct the Puja, decorations, meals and all of these brought up the level of excitement amidst members.
Finally the perseverance, hardwork and planning paid off as Maa Durga arrived with the joy of celebration. The 5 day celebrations were successfully carried out at the Municipal School hall with a humble collection of approximately Rs.25000/-.
Club’s 1st achievement came with a collection fund of Rs.1,179/- Which was handed over to the Tahsildar, Khalapur, Raigad with the purpose of charity & welfare. The good work continued as the first President of Prabasi club Late Mr. S.R. Saha provided shelter, food and medical assistance to the victims of flood at his home.
After the first Durga Puja celebration there has been no looking back and ‘Prabasi’ finally acquired the status of a registered organization under the Charity Commission of the Govt of Maharashtra by the name ‘Prabasi Bengalee Association, Khopoli’ in the year 2003.
Today the association boasts of approximately 100 families under its banner and together with the immense help from the local citizens and representatives we continue to successfully conduct many festivities like Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Borsha Mongal, Netaji Subhash Chandra Jayanti, Rabindra Jayanti, Poila Boishakh, of course Durga Puja being closest to heart!

Activities:
Poila Boishakh: Marks the beginning of Bengali Calendar year. The day is celebrated with a get-together of all the Bengalis. A small cultural programme is carried out welcoming the New Year followed by dinner. The new working committee for the year is also decided upon during this event.

Tagore’s B’day: Also known as Rabindra Jayanti. A small function is held where Tagore’s poems are recited and songs are sung by club members; paying a tribute to the great legend.

Borsha Mongol: Borsha Mongol celebrates Monsoon, in order to welcome the rains. Songs based on monsoon are sung while few poems are also recited. The event is concluded with a comfort meal of Moonger Daler Khichuri, Begun Bhaja and Papad Bhaja.

Durga Puja: The biggest event and celebration of the club for which members work throughout the year. The festivities continue for five days with different cultural and entertainment programmes by all the Bengalis. A lot of support is also received from the local people for this grand festival.

Lakshmi Puja: Is celebrated on Kojagari Poornima day. A small puja is carried out followed by a get together.

Kali Puja: It has recently been started from the year 2010. A new initiative that has been carried out by the club members.

Annual picnic: A yearly picnic is organized by the club in the month of December/January. Usually a sea side or lake side locations are selected so that people can enjoy whole day. People have lots of fun during the day playing games like Cricket, Housie, etc. Lunch is prepared at the picnic spot itself and the day is wrapped up by evening after tea time.

Netaji’s B’day: Celebrated on 23rd of January every year. The club began celebrating Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti on 23-1-1989 with Co-operation from all members. Mrs. Joshi sang Bengali songs and drew overwhelming appreciation. Since then every year Members get together and speak about Netaji’s contribution to the country, play quiz based on Netaji’s life history and pay tribute to the great leader.

Saraswati Puja: The last function of the Bengali Calendar year. It is a daylong celebration where an idol of goddess Saraswati is brought and puja is carried out. A traditional bhog of Khichudi is served during lunch while the evening consists of cultural programme performed by the club members.

Extra Curricular activities:
The club takes an active interest in different charitable causes. In the past the club has made donations to the “Deaf and Dumb School” at Khopoli, Orphanage at Lonavala. During the 2005 Monsoon deluge and other natural calamities the club has stepped forward and made contributions in all means it could. It also helps underprivileged students at various junctures and plans to carry out many more social causes in times to come.

The club was founded on 8th January 1989 by like minded people with ample representation of ladies.The following executive body was formed by face and fair election for the year 1989.
President:Late Shri Swadesh Ranjan Saha
Secretary:Late Shri Nimai Chandra Chatterjee
Treasurer:Late Shri K.C.Bandyopadhyay
Vice President:Smt.Bharti Moulick
Joint Secretary: Shri A.K.Bhattacharya
Executive Members: 1) Shri A.K.Konar
2)Smt.Sumita Bera