Durga Puja gatherings begin across Sweden on October 16, while Chennai’s main celebrations are set to start two days later.
The festival connects Bengali communities in Sweden with long-running associations in Chennai through worship, food donation, performances and themed pandals. The supplied schedules do not give identical date ranges for the most important festival days, making each local timetable important for people planning to attend.
- October 16Events begin
Sambandh Sweden starts its Durgostav in Helsingborg, the Bengali Association of Gothenburg begins its Durga Puja events, and the Stockholm Sarbojonin Puja Committee opens its programme in Solna.
- October 17More Swedish gatherings
The Bengali Cultural Society of South Sweden starts events at Oxhallen in Helsingborg, while Utsav Kulturförening begins its two-day programme in Uppsala.
- October 18Chennai days begin
Chennai’s main celebrations begin with Saptami and continue through Dashami on October 21.
- October 22Stockholm event follows
Bangiya Sanatan Samaj begins events at Tensta Träff, continuing through October 24.
Sweden’s events are spread across several cities and venues. Sambandh Sweden holds its Durgostav in Helsingborg from October 16 through 18, while the Bengali Cultural Society of South Sweden holds events at Oxhallen from October 17 to 19.
The Bengali Association of Gothenburg has events on Friday October 16 and Saturday October 17, with registration through its website. The Stockholm Sarbojonin Puja Committee holds its programme from October 16 through 18 at Vasalundshallen in Solna.
The Nordic Bengali Association has events on those same three days at Sollentuna Centrum. Its food registration is closed, but the supplied information does not say whether other Swedish events have sold out or closed registration.
Utsav Kulturförening holds two days of Durga Puja on October 17 and 18 at Tunabergsskolan in Uppsala. Bangiya Sanatan Samaj then holds events from October 22 to 24 at Tensta Träff in Stockholm.
Chennai’s associations have long histories
In Chennai, the main celebrations run from Saptami to Dashami, October 18 to 21. The Bengal Association traces its roots to 1929 and has held Durga Puja since the early 1930s at its premises on Giri Road in T Nagar.
The association stages its Durga Puja opposite Surya Sweets. The venue is 29 Giri Road, listed as Old No. 29 and New No. 65, T. Nagar. Its idol follows an ekchala structure, with all the deities placed beneath one arch or chalchitra and decorated in traditional saaj.
| Organisation | Chennai venue |
|---|---|
| The Bengal Association | 29 Giri Road (Old No. 29, New No. 65), T. Nagar, opposite Surya Sweets |
| SMCA | Mantra Gardens, Nandanam, beside Kotturpuram bridge |
| DSWA | BSNL Community Hall, Anna Nagar |
| Anya Mukh | Sri Padma Ram Ganesh Mahal, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, Nehru Nagar, Chromepet |
| DCPCA | Ilara Hotel grounds, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, behind Geetham Restaurant, Navalur |
The Bengal Association serves community maha bhog during Saptami, Ashtami and Navami afternoons. The meal includes khichuri, labra and payesh, and its evening cultural programme runs during the four days of puja from 7.30pm onwards.
Tarun Kumar Das, secretary of the Bengal Association, Chennai, said, “An important part of our Durga Puja is anna daan (food donation). We distribute maha bhog free of cost to around 1,000 to 1,500 people every day during the four days of Puja. We also distribute clothes at ashrams and orphanages,”
The evening programme begins with Anondomela, where women bring home-made dishes to mark the start of Panchami. It continues with children’s performances, dances, Bengali drama by in-house members and live music.
Food is also a central part of the association’s wider offering. Among the stalls are egg-chicken rolls and Mughlai paratha. Visitors can also find bhetki fish fry and mutton cutlets, along with fish chops and phuchka, Kolkata-style biryani, kosha mangsho, katla kalia, luchi, radhaballabhi, aloo dum and Bengali sweets.
Pandals and performances shape the programme
The South Madras Cultural Association, or SMCA, is one of Chennai’s largest pujas. It began in Besant Nagar and has moved to Nandanam Extension. Its Puja is said to have started 48 years ago through a group of Bengalis and non-Bengalis.
This year’s SMCA pandal takes Satyajit Ray’s Magical Creation as its theme. Prodyot Bowmick, president of SMCA, said, “For this year we have the theme pandal on Satyajit Ray’s Magical Creation, where we are paying homage to him through his films,”
SMCA’s four-day programme includes Gombhira performances, a traditional folk dance, by artistes from Kolkata. It also has a Dandiya and Garba night on 19 October 9pm onwards, along with nearly 50 stalls selling Kolkata street food, saris, handicrafts and other traditional products.
The Dakshini Society Welfare Association, known as DSWA, has organised Durga Puja since 1995. Its 32nd puja at the BSNL Community Hall in Anna Nagar uses Bengali handicrafts and regional art forms, including Madhubani and patachitra paintings, talpatar pakha, lal gamcha, kulo and karis.
Anjali Biswas, an entrepreneur based in Nadia, curated the decor. DSWA’s five-day programme features Ballavpurer Rajbari and Ostader Mar Sesh Rate as Bengali plays, alongside the children’s dance drama Sitaharan Porbo and devotional production Sambahabani Yuge Yuge.
Subir Kumar Shaw, president of DSWA, said, “Our cultural programmes are the heart of the puja. They bring together our children, youth, and elders,”
DSWA has six food stalls. They serve Bengali specialities and Chinese fare, as well as chaat, ghugni, alur chop, pakoras, lassi and Bengali sweets.
Anya Mukh, a Chennai-based Bengali drama and cultural group founded in 2022, is in its third year of organising the festival. Its theme, Sati'r Dehtyag O Shakti Peeth, follows the mythological story of Goddess Sati and the origins of sacred sites across the Indian subcontinent.
Nabadwip-based clay artist Ramesh Pal is crafting Anya Mukh’s Durga idol. Artisans from Krishnanagar are producing the thematic decorations and installations for the event at Sri Padma Ram Ganesh Mahal in Chromepet.
Atri Kumaar Sinha, president of Anya Mukh, said, “For us, Durga Puja is not just about the celebrations; it is about bringing people together and creating a home away from home, where we can keep our traditions alive and share them with the wider community,”
Community groups extend the celebrations
DCPCA began in 2014 with 20 to 30 people and now has over 300 members.
Jaypal Menon, secretary of DCPCA, said, “We started in 2014, and since then the association has grown from a small group of 20 to 30 people to a community of over 300 members,”
DCPCA’s festivities include cultural programmes featuring performances by members’ families across generations. The association’s theme highlights the traditional beauty of dak er aaaj. Goddess Durga and her children wear white crowns, jewellery and embellishments made from natural shola pith.
At the Ilara Hotel grounds in Navalur, food stalls will serve Kolkata-style biriyani, varieties of chops, Kolkata street-style Chinese, chaats and Bengali sweets. The backdrop takes its cue from paintings by Jamini Roy.
The schedules show overlapping but non-identical festival calendars. Swedish events start on October 16, Chennai’s stated main days begin on October 18, and the Bangiya Sanatan Samaj programme continues after October 21 until October 24.
The supplied information does not provide the full programme or timings for the Swedish gatherings. It also does not establish whether any of those events have sold out beyond the Nordic Bengali Association’s closed food registration.
The estimate from the Bengal Association that it distributes maha bhog to around 1,000 to 1,500 people each day is attributed to Tarun Kumar Das and is not independently verified in the supplied information.
No further dated step is provided for any of the listed events beyond their stated festival dates.
Chennai’s Saptami-to-Dashami celebrations begin on October 18.
