Pune: As autumn ushers in Durga Puja and Navaratra, the distance from home can feel especially poignant for those celebrating thousands of miles away. With soaring airfares making trips home a luxury, familiar rituals, the beat of the dhak and the swirl of garba take on a deeper significance. Across continents, the Indian diaspora is finding ways to recreate the magic of the festive season, transforming churches, cricket grounds and university ballrooms into intimate corners of home.In Paisley, near Glasgow, a historic church becomes a slice of Bengal. Organised by the Bangiya Sanskritik Parishad, Glasgow Durga Puja brings Indian students and Scottish residents together over Kumortuli-inspired artistry, phuchka, alu kabli and traditional bhog.“Seeing a Durga Puja inside a church in Scotland, surrounded by local Scottish people and fellow Indian students enjoying Bengali street food and authentic bhog, made me feel right at home for a second. It bridges the miles instantly,” said Shreemoyee Roy Chowdhury (26), a student at the University of Glasgow.In the Netherlands, the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen becomes a gathering place for Anandadhara’s Durga Puja, while Hoofddorp hosts celebrations of its own. Mornings unfold with pushpanjali, Kanya Pujan and Sandhi Puja, observed according to traditional panchang timings. By evening, the mood shifts to dandiya, Bollywood nights and fashion shows.“Celebrating our pujas here bridges the distance completely,” said Rituparna Katnal (34), a software professional in the Randstad region. “We hold on to our morning rituals and traditional Bengali bhog of khichuri, labra and roshogolla, while embracing the evening festivities.”For Rituparna, the celebrations begin at home with Mahalaya, when potlucks bring friends together over Bengali delicacies such as shukto, a mildly bitter mixed-vegetable dish, and muri ghonto, a fragrant preparation of fish head and rice. Biryani and a special vegetarian “mutton curry”, prepared without onion or garlic as a Navami offering to Maa Durga, complete the spread. Friends from Kerala and the wider South Indian community, Dutch colleagues and Bangladeshi neighbours join in, often bringing dishes and sweets of their own.“Everyone looks for a reason to celebrate, dress up and come together. Women wear red-and-white saris, we take photographs and share our food. Here, cultural differences take a back seat to the joy of being together. That sense of community is what makes Puja special,” she said.Across the Atlantic, Durga Puja finds an extraordinary stage in New York. At an open-air celebration organised by the Bengali Club of USA and ECDPA, the dhak reverberates and dhunuchi dancers perform against the towering skyline of Times Square.“I honestly had teary eyes standing right in the middle of Times Square,” said Souvik Mukherjee (24), an MS student in New York. “Hearing those vibrant, traditional dhak drum beats and watching the dhunuchi dance performances surrounded by skyscrapers brought me right back home.”In Central Florida, and at Florida State University’s Student Union Ballroom, food and music bridge generations. For Nandita Bose (51), who has lived in Florida for years, evening arati brings childhood memories rushing back, while shared meals turn familiar flavours into a celebration of community.“The rhythmic beats of the dhak during evening aratis bring back a flood of childhood memories,” she said. “Serving homemade Bengali delicacies like shondesh and chamcham alongside warm North Indian feasts with gulab jamun, kaju katli and puri-halwa makes everyone feel like one big extended family.”A church, a cricket ground, a university ballroom, a city square: each becomes a home away from home. Across borders, the rituals endure not simply through tradition, but through the people who carry them forward. In the familiar rhythm of a drum, the sweetness of a shared meal and the pleasure of gathering together, home becomes less a place left behind than a feeling recreated, year after year.
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