Dhol can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such as the Jammu, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Kashmir, Sindh, Assam Valley, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Konkan, Goa, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. A related instrument is the dholak or dholki. Dhols are amongst other events used in Indian wedding ceremony processions such as Baraat or Varyatra.
Vijayadashami, more commonly known as Dussehra, and also known as Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu lunisolar calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura. It is particularly celebrated in the Eastern Indian states of West Bengal,Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and by Hindus in Bangladesh. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar. Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance. The puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations. The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a melā. Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO in December 2021.
Dhakeshwari National Temple is a Hindu temple in Old Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangladesh's 'National Temple'. The name "Dhakeshwari" means "Goddess of Dhaka". Bangladesh is the only country in the World to have a National Hindu Temple. It's one of the holiest Shakta pithas where the gem of Devi sati's crown fell but the gem is lost long ago and the main ancient Vigraha or stone murti is relocated to Kumortuli West Bengal during the partition time by the chief priest due to increased attacks on Hindu temples in Bangladesh.
Jagatdhatri or Jagaddhatri is an aspect of the Hindu goddess Durga, worshipped in the Indian state of West Bengal and other states like Odisha and Jharkhand. Jagaddhatri Puja is particularly famous in Chandannagar town of Hooghly district,Krishnanagar of Nadia district and Ichhapur Nawabgunj of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal where it is celebrated as a five-day-long festival. Her worship and rituals are derived from Tantra. It is believed that her worship frees her devotees from ego and all other materialistic desires.
The culture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the culture of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. It has evolved over the centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of several social groups of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissance of the 18th early 19th centuries, noted Bengali writers, saints, authors, scientists, researchers, thinkers, music composers, painters, film-makers have played a significant role in the development of Bengali culture. The culture of Bangladesh is deeply intertwined with the culture of the Bengal region. Basically Bengali culture refers to the culture of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissance contained the seeds of a nascent political Indian nationalism which was the precursor in many ways to modern Indian artistic cultural expression.
Kolkata has many festivals throughout the year. The largest and most magnificently celebrated festival of the city is Durga Puja, and it features colourful pandals, decorative idols of Hindu goddess Durga and her family, lighting decorations and fireworks. Other major festivals are Diwali, Kali Puja, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Poush Parbon, Poila Boishakh, Christmas, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, etc.
The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Different geographic regions of West Bengal have subtle as well as more pronounced variations between each other, with Darjeeling Himalayan hill region and Duars showing particularly different socio-cultural aspects.
Guptipara is a census town in Balagarh, a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Sadar subdivision of the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Barowari refers to the public organisation of a religious entity, mainly in West Bengal, India. Barowari has significance associated with the Durga Puja festival, in which the Hindu Goddess Durga is worshipped; symbolising the victory of good over evil. The word "Barowari" comes from the Sanskrit words "bar", which means public, and Persian word "wari", means For.
Culture of Birbhum refers to the culture of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Hinduism is the largest religious tradition in the Indian state of West Bengal with approximately 70.54% of the population identifying themselves as Hindus. The Hindus in West Bengal mostly belong to the Shakta, minority to Vaishnavite and a small community belong to Shaivite and other denominations. The vast majority of Hindus in West Bengal are Bengali Hindus numbering around 55 million and comprising 60.2% of the state population of 91.35 million (2011) but a notable section of non-Bengali Hindus also exist, particularly among Marwaris, Biharis, Odias, Gurkhas, Sindhis, Gujaratis and various tribal communities such as Koch, Santals, Munda, Mech people and particularly Adivadis numbering around 9.4 million comprising rest 10.3% of the state population.
Delhi Durga Puja Samiti, also known as the Kashmere Gate Durga Puja is the oldest community Durga Puja (festival) of Delhi. It is currently held in the lawns of Bengali Sr Sec School, Alipur Road, Delhi. It started in the year of 1910 at Roshanpura Kali Mandir near Nai Sarak as "Baroyari Puja". It was an effort on the part of the probasi (settled) Bengalis living in the city, especially, of one Railway Doctor Hemchandra Sen. Subsequently, Lala Lachminarayan & his son Lala Girdhari Lal helped the puja samiti grow by providing them space in their Dharamshala located near Fathepuri Mosque.
Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra, and again in the month of Ashvin (September–October). It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratris. However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri. There are 2 Gupta Navaratris or "Secret Navaratris" as well, one starting on the Shukla Paksha Pratipada of the Magha Month and another starting in the Shukla Paksha Pratipada of Ashadha Month.
Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja or Kartika. The festival is especially popular in the region of West Bengal, and other places like Mithila, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, as well as the town of Titwala in Maharashtra, along with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.
Bengali Hindus are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jharkhand, and Assam's Barak Valley region. In Bangladesh, they form the largest minority. They are adherents of Hinduism and are native to the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Comprising about one-third of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ethnic group among Hindus after Hindustani Hindus. Bengali Hindus speak Bengali, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and adhere to Shaktism or Vaishnavism of their native religion Hinduism with some regional deities. There are significant numbers of Bengali-speaking Hindus in different Indian states. According to the census in 1881, 12.81 per cent of Bengali Hindus belonged to the three upper castes while the rest belonged to the Shudra and Dalit castes.
The Bengali Hindu diaspora is the worldwide population of the Bengali Hindus of Indian and Bangladeshi origin.
Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated magnificently marking the worship of the Hindu mother goddess Durga. This festival is the biggest festival in Kolkata, the capital of Indian state West Bengal.
Jagtai Choudhury bari is the residential house of the erstwhile zamindar family based in Jagtai of Murshidabad district in West Bengal, India. The Choudhury estate was established by Rani Gaurangini Devi in the 18th century in British-occupied India. The first zamindar of this family was Babu Saheblal Choudhury. The last zamindar of Jagtai was Shri Sailendranath Choudhury until the abolition of zamindars by the West Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950.
Bengali drummers during Manasa Puja in Birbhum, West Bengal
Bengal drummer and a dhaki
A dhaki with his magnificent dhak at a South Kolkata Durga Puja pandal, 2010.
