TURA, Oct 3: For the many thousands of indian hindus working or residing overseas, durga puja celebrations back home with family and friends are priceless moments, and missing this once a year religious festival, can at times, make one overwhelming with nostalgia.

This year was no different for those away from the hustle and bustle experience of puja pandal hopping in India.

Though celebrations of durga puja are on a grandscale in metropolitan cities of the world, particularly London in United Kingdom and New York in the United States, where a large indian diaspora reside, to find one far away from these places would have been extremely rare, particularly in the northern most region of Great Britain.

So, it was a pleasant surprise for a young gentleman and medical professional from Tura to spot a puja pandal all the way up in Scotland on Monday.

One of England’s leading surgeons who hails from Tura and now works in Cambridge, Dr Subhankar Paul, shares moments of his experience of Durga Puja in far north Scotland.

“I was feeling homesick and missing Durga Puja celebrations while attending a conference in Scotland.

So I visited the area hoping to find someone who was celebrating when I got a pleasant surprise to find a large and elaborate durga puja celebrations underway at a place called Paisley, which borders Glasgow in Wales,” an awestruck Dr Subhankar Paul disclosed while speaking to Hub News from Garo Hills during a social media chat.

The durga pujas, the doctor would be surprised to find, had been elaborately organised inside a sprawling ancient fort like structure that was once a church and had now been converted into an events venue by the Scottish authorities.

This year’s Durga Pujas are very special for everyone because they have not witnessed such gala celebrations for the past two years due to the pandemic, points out Dr Subhankar.

Crowds of devotees were seen queuing up to offer prayers to goddess durga at the puja mandap as hindu priests chanted prayers. The colorfully decorated idols of the goddess and the dazzling display of lights was an eye catcher for every visitor.

“Entering the puja area and seeing the crowds felt every bit like I was in India, especially Tura and Garo Hills. The food served here at the puja venue was similar to what we use to enjoy back home and even the Rosogulla sweet dish at the end of the meal brought back the sweetness of home,” says Dr Subhankar Paul of the puja experience.
Mentioning about the significance of the puja celebrations where good prevails over evil the young doctor offered prayers for peace and prosperity for his home- the Garo Hills on this auspicious occasion.