Bengalis will celebrate annual Kali Puja in Mumbai on Diwali night

MUMBAI: A series of festive rituals will unfold over Diwali weekend, among them the nocturnal Kali Puja by the Bengali community. Various pandals that celebrate Durga Puja also host Kali Puja with elaborate rituals followed by bhog prasad meals.
The 101-year-old Bengal Club of Shivaji Park has been organising Kali Puja since 88 years gaving started in 1935.Spokesman Prasoon Rakshit said, "Kali Puja is usually performed at night so it will begin by 9.30 pm on Kartik Amavasya and continue till the wee hours." Pushpanjali is at 12.30 am followed by bhog aarti. Classic Bengali bhog prasad fare including khichdi, labda and payesh will be distributed after the ceremony is complete at 1.30 am.
Tejpal Hall in Gowalia Tank is the venue of the Bombay Durga Bari Samiti event. Durga Bari president Susmita Mitra said, "Kali Puja signifies the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. At night devotees worship Goddess Kali and offer red hibiscus flowers, the deity's favourite. Mahaprasad is organised at midnight. The rituals commence with ghatsthapna followed by pushpanjali and the illumination of 108 diyas before the goddess. After aarti we offer bhog to Kali Ma and the puja concludes with havan."
On Friday, two days before Kali Puja, the Bassein Bengal Club installed a new idol of the goddess, procured from Kolkata, at a grand function at its Kali Mandir in Vasai. "The old idol that was in worship since 1996 was worn out, so we immersed it. A priest of Ramakrishna Mission officiated at the installation ceremony at 11.00 am," said spokesperson Mrinal Guha.
Bangla singer Shurjo Bhattacharya, who has trained under Manna Dey and Pt Ajoy Chakraborty, was invited to perform. He said, "There is an entire genre of music dedicated to Ma Kali called Shyama Sangeet. But professional singers are seldom invited to perform at such devotions, so I am happy that I get to sing Shyama Sangeet and earn the goddess's blessings too. The acoustics and arrangements here are so professional."
The Bengalis of Chembur had built a Kalibari in 2014. On Sunday, they too will perform Amavasya Puja/ Kali Puja with full fanfare.
Bengalis in the western suburbs will visit the famous Kali Mandir of Kallol, Goregaon, and the seven-year-old event of HRCWA, Kandivli East.
"This year we will have Kali Puja at Bhoomi Valley Clubhouse Terrace," said HRCWA chairman Sudipto Chatterjee. "Devotees typically fast all day and offer prayers and only then have the bhog that we prepare late at night." He said Kali Puja was propagated by Sri Ramakrishna in West Bengal followed by Swami Vivekananda.