Credit: Kangkan Halder
The Indian festival "Durga Puja" concluded on Tuesday 4 October 2022 with an estimated 700 to 800 people visiting the aptly decorated venue at Salle am Duerf in Itzig during the four-day celebrations.
Inscribed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Durga Puga is one of the fourteen Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from India.
A major annual festival in eastern and northeastern states of India and in Bangladesh, Durga Puja has been celebrated in Luxembourg since 2019. Organised by LuxUtsav, a Luxembourg-based non-profit cultural organisation, this year the Durga Puja was celebrated from 1 to 4 October. Over 50 volunteers participated in the organisation of the event.
On all four days, various cultural events were organised, including numerous dance performances, musical performances by Maddox Square Jam and solo artists, theatre performances, fashion shows and children's activities, amongst others. Various food stalls served delicacies from India comprising vegetarian and non-vegetarian options and many sweet and savoury dishes.
Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Budhaditya Bhattacharyya, President of LuxUtsav and priest ("purohit"), said: “LuxUtsav in its fourth [edition] in 2022, we are extremely happy with the reception we got. People from all walks of life from Luxembourg came to witness our Puja. Saturday and Sunday were extremely busy and we cannot be more thankful, in spite of the [rainy] weather Thank you everyone for participation in this cultural event and hope everyone enjoyed the food”.
Debasish Prusty, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India, Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, also visited the Luxembourg Durga Puja, and shared his support for the event.
According to national statistics agency STATEC, there were over 3,100 people of Indian nationality living in Luxembourg as of 1 January 2022.
