Dublin's Indian communities are set to come together to celebrate Dusshera in style this year.
A six-day festive bonanza will be taking place at the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre in Ballymount from September 30 to October 5 this year. Organiser Sudeep Sanyal and the VHCCI team said this year's celebrations will be extra special with a number of events planned.
He told Dublin Live: "Last year we did it for five days but we'll be doing it for six days this year starting from Panchami to Bijaya Dasami and Dusshera Day." One of the exciting things guests can look forward to is delicious meals cooked in-house by the centre's dedicated volunteers.
Sudeep said: "We opened a kitchen in the centre this June and at the moment we distribute food every Sunday. For this year's celebrations, we are going to cook meals twice a day in the kitchen that will be offered to the Goddess, Ma Durga, and then distribute them to the guests.
"It’s going to be a big challenge because we will be doing it twice every day. We definitely need volunteers for cooking, cutting vegetables, sponsoring, and cleaning the dishes."
While last year only saw a turn out of 2,000 people due to Covid restrictions, Sudeep is expecting 3,000 to 4,000 guests this year including people from various other Indian communities. He added: "We also got artificial lotus flowers from India to offer to Ma Durga. In India, we offer real lotus flowers to the goddess on Ashtami Day but we don’t get them in Ireland."
Durga Puja celebrations are set to take place from September 30 to October 5 at the Vedic Hindu Cultural Centre at 2D, Sunbury Industrial Estate, Ballymount Road Lower, Dublin 12.
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