SLOUGH Hockey Club played host to a five-day Bengali Hindu festival, where more than 5,000 people from all backgrounds paid their respects to the goddess Durga, writes Monika Ghosh.
Over the five days of the Durga Puja festival there were worship rituals, alongside cultural activities, performances, and daily feasts.
There was also a talent show and drawing competition for children, and a Dhak competition for adults.
The Dhak is a huge drum from Bengal and the beats made are an integral part of Durga Puja.
Bengal is a region of India with a rich tradition of story-telling and the festival is the high point of the religious calendar. The meaning behind the 'Puja' is the triumph of good over evil.
In attendance was Devina Majumder, a candidate in the final stages of the Miss England beauty pageant.
The 24-year-old from Caversham said: “Going to Durga Puja lets me be connected to my roots in the country I call home.”
Durga Puja traditionally ends with sculptures of Durga and her family being immersed in a river, and the event in Slough each day ended with a jam session, where people sang and danced.
The event was organised by the Royal Berkshire Bengali Association (RBBA), which formed eight years ago.
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