16th annual Hindu Durga Puja festival to be held in West Lafayette

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The West Lafayette Durgapuja Association will be hosting the 16th annual Durga Puja festival Saturday, an event expected to draw Hindus from across Indiana.

This year’s festival will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Bharatiya Temple and Cultural Center of Greater Lafayette, 1210 Montgomery Street in West Lafayette.

Durga Puja is one of the biggest Hindu festivals celebrated in eastern Indian states, such as West Bengal. The festival pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and celebrates the goddess' victory over the demon king, Mahishasura.

In India, Durga Puja is normally celebrated over the span of 10 days, and many worship the goddess Durga during the last five days of the festival.

But in America, Hindus aren’t normally able to find the appropriate amount of time to truly celebrate the festival.

That’s why, 16 years again, Aloke Bera and his wife, Tripti Bera, began hosting a one-day Puja event in West Lafayette, in hopes of making the festival more accessible to Indiana’s Hindu community.

Prior to their event, it was common for people in the community to drive across state lines in order to celebrate the holiday in the Midwest.

“Our Puja has another very unique perspective. As parents, we all realize that our children growing up in the US are hugely isolated from the traditions and culture that we grew up with in India. We should keep our eyes open to the fact that our children, need to be and should be involved in our traditional cultural activities,” a press release from Aloke states.

The festival will have activities like dancing, food sharing, and worshipping.

For people interested in attending Saturday’s festival, it is not too late to register. To register, visit the West Lafayette Durga Puja website.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette celebrates 16th annual Durga Puja festival