Birmingham, Alabama Area Hindus Celebrate Durga Puja Festival

October 4, 2009

Author: Dawn Kent

Source: The Birmingham News

https://www.al.com/spotnews/2009/10/birmingham_area_hindus_celebra.html

 

Saturday marked a first for Birmingham area Hindus, as they gathered for a Durga Puja festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

About 150 people attended the daylong event at Homewood's Alta Vista Hotel overlooking the downtown skyline.

The festival was organized by the Bengali Association of Greater Birmingham, made up of about 65 people mostly from eastern India, where the festival is especially popular.

Until Saturday, those who wanted to celebrate the annual festival that pays homage to the mother goddess Durga had to travel to Nashville, Atlanta or elsewhere.

"It's an honor to have it in Birmingham, our own Durga Puja," said Alisha Ghosh, an 18-year-old student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.