Tata pulls out Nano project from WB Oct 4, 2008
He said it was unfortunate that he had to make the decision just before Durga Puja, a festive time in the state, but the company had a timeline to meet for the project that had been hailed all over the world. He said the new site for the plant would be announced shortly even as Gujarat joined states like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana in bidding for the project. (Sify.com, India)
Tanushree Datta - Durga Bhakt! Oct 4, 2008
It is that time of the year when the hearts of all Bengali's yearn for Durga Puja festivities back home ... She says, "I always make sure that I am around with my family to celebrate the Durga Puja. We usually decorate the house with diyas, flowers, incense, etc. and loads of Bengali sweets are also made which I love to savor. We also have lots of relatives visiting us from Kolkata and my hometown Jamshedpur. I have a strong belief in god and I know she protects me from all harm and will help... (GlamSham)
Bringing to life a Durga idol is a labour Oct 4, 2008
NEW DELHI: One more day to Durga Puja ... "Delhi, for us, is a home away from home. Through these four days, we get to connect to our roots and our homeland," says Amlan Das, treasurer of the Timarpur Civil Lines Puja Samiti, which is celebrating its 95 years on this Durga Puja. (Times of India)
Halls of Fame for fun, films Oct 3, 2008
With Durga Puja round the corner, the new entertainment zone is sure to be an instant hit with one segment of the target audience students. Four college students, including two girls, of Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, were excited about the multi-utilities of the multiplex. (Calcutta Telegraph)
Hawkers clash with cops, burn prison van in Midnapore Oct 3, 2008
With Eid the morning after and Durga Puja a few days away, all the stalls were stacked with goods. Sarabangla Hawkers O Kshudra Byabsayee Samity has pegged the loss at Rs 25 lakh. (Times of India)
Blasts 'kill four' in India state Oct 3, 2008
"The markets were full of shoppers as the big Hindu festival of Durga Puja is only a few days away," said local journalist Syed Sajjad Ali. Police in Agartala say timers were used to set off the bombs. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Delhi blast ripples in city, security on its toes Sep 15, 2008
With Durga Puja around the corner, the have braced themselves up to provide a safe festive experience to the people. Police Commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, made rounds of the various malls of the city on Sunday evening to oversee the security arrangements. (Expressindia.com)
KMC lens on errant hawkers Sep 14, 2008
KOLKATA: After a rap from Calcutta High Court, Kolkata Municipal Corporation is gearing up to restrict rampant hawking on major thoroughfares of the city (Times of India)
Gold demand firm despite price rise Sep 7, 2008
The popular 12-day Ganesh festival has just started and in next two months India will celebrate Durga Puja and Diwali, both major Hindu festivals, when demand for gold increases for auspicious reasons. Also Read. (India Times)
WB: Denied new shirt, boy hangs self Aug 25, 2008
KOLKATA: Rebuked by his father who had repeatedly turned down his request for a new shirt for Durga Puja, a 12-year-old boy hanged himself in his home at Saheb Colony in Kanchrapara on Sunday. Subrata Das had been asking for the Puja gift for the last few days. (India Times, India)
Singur shift will delay Nano Aug 24, 2008
The Tatas have fixed the Durga Puja time in October for Nano's launch. While for Tatas a Rs 1500 crore investment is at stake, the 60-odd vendors who have set base in the area are at no less financial risk, having committed a minimum of Rs 500 crore. (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
Toxic festivals poison waterways Aug 20, 2008
But commercialization of festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja has meant people want bigger and brighter idols and are no longer happy with the eco-friendly statues. Authorities say they are taking steps to c 00004000 heck pollution. (India Times)
Showbiz celebrates regional diversity Aug 15, 2008
feels, "Being a Bengali, I didn't know much about the Punjabi or Gujarati culture. But having worked in serials like Kyunkii and Kayamth, I have picked up a lot about the way they eat, talk, dress and worship. I enjoy Dandiya and Bhangra today as much as I enjoy Durga Puja.". In a country like India where a large majority of the population still talks about divide and rule, believes in casteism etc, the regional offerings on TV and Bollywood have served as an apt platform in bringing about a... (India Times, India)
Wanderlust of Bengalis Aug 12, 2008
It is no wonder then that tour operators from India and abroad are flocking to the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, home to the Bengali community, to hook up clients with attractive packages ahead of the upcoming festival season, Durga Puja ... However, some, like Deepika Chakrabarty, are going to Egypt as part of a group during this Durga Puja in October. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Tatas schedule Nano deliveries in the New Year Jul 21, 2008
Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant had earlier said the rollout of the Tata Nano from Singur would coincide with Durga Puja in October. According to the proposed schedule, trial production is slated to start in June-July and regular production after two months. (India Times)
Nano rollout by Durga Puja despite cost overrun Jun 29, 2008
We are confident to roll out Nano in October, sometime during Durga Puja, Mr Kant said. The Nano, he said, was receiving a huge response from international markets. (Economic Times)
No competition with Nano: Maruti Jun 29, 2008
NEW DELHI: As Tata Motors gears up to roll out Nano by Durga Puja, country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is confident that the Rs 1 lakh wonder will be of no competition to it. "It (Nano) increases the market size but it will not cut into the market of people who are buying cars that are in the Rs two-lakh price category. A person who buys a car for Rs two lakh, I believe that there will be very few people who will buy this (Nano) car. It is a new segment," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman R C... (India Times, India)
Biharis get work at home, bashers realise their worth Jun 17, 2008
Which would explain why Surat millowners recently asked the Bihars deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi to appeal to Bihari workers to return to Surat after Chhat and Durga Puja. Discuss this story with other readers. (India Times)
Hind Motors sets Puja date for new model Jun 11, 2008
Calcutta, June 10: Hindustan Motors Ltd (HM) will roll out its new model from the Uttarpara plant during the Durga Puja, which is in October ... We hope to launch the vehicle during the Durga Puja. (Calcutta Telegraph)
Thane loses political heritage to a car park May 20, 2008
The Gaondevi Maidan is not only used for political rallies but is also used during the Durga puja. Can you imagine Mumbais politics without Shivaji Park. (Daily News & Analysis)
Reading around Calcutta Feb 27, 2008
Tutor of Persian to governor general Warren Hastings, Nabakrishna amassed a huge fortune helping the East India Company strengthen its position in Bengal, and used his money to support revivalist Hindu scholars and build his opulent abode, where Kolkata's first Hindu Durga Puja festival was extravagantly celebrated in 1757. Nabakrishna's grandson, Radhakanta Deb, however, used his family wealth to publish a crucial Sanskrit encyclopaedia and patronise the arts. (Guardian Unlimited -- Books)
Nano production set for October Feb 21, 2008
He was looking at around the Durga Puja time in October for commercial production to begin. Mr. Kant expressed satisfaction with the progress of work after his three-hour visit to the site and said: We hope that things go on barring very unforeseen circumstances like the rains. (Hindu)
Shobhaa De: Me, Marathi Feb 17, 2008
He attends Durga Puja regularly and prefers maacher jhol to vangi bhaat. Fortunately, we dont have a daughter-in-law to name a college after, either in Kolkata or Mumbai. (India Times, India)
I'm a migrant, this is my city Feb 17, 2008
My area was known for its musical soirees during Durga Puja and I was an inseparable part of these programmes. Even today, things have not changed and though I go back to Badayun once a year, the image of Kolkata flashes in my minds eye whenever the word home is uttered. (India Times, India)
Sania Mirza boycotts Bangalore Feb 6, 2008
The dates clashing with Durga Puja and the lack of proper practice courts (not meeting WTA regulations) might force a venue change. The event, normally held in September, was rescheduled to October because of the Olympics. (Hindustan Times)
Calcutta News is exhausting Jan 29, 2008
Ajith has adopted the local ways, which is proved through one instance where Ajith claims that his coverage of Durga Puja is the most authentic among all news channels (whatever that means). Krishnapriya (Meera Jasmine []), a nave (so nave that she starts humming along when she hears Yesudas singing a Salil Chaudary composition on the transistor in a roadside eatery forgetting the surroundings and even her own miserable state) and nubile female. (Rediff)
Court notice to Lord Ram and Hanuman Dec 8, 2007
A villager, Puran Chandra Halder, who regularly held Durga puja adjacent to the temple, petitioned the Dhanbad district commissioner in 1987 to declare the temple a public property. The ruling went in his favour. (Times of India)
Opium ain't that bad Nov 17, 2007
The moral panic that engulfed the British and reverberated around the world shapes Indian drug laws which ignore traditional practices like having siddhi during Durga Puja or bhang on other religious occasions. This divorce between law and social reality has produced a society that unthinkingly mimics British modernity and clamps down on innocuous substances while permitting dangerous alternatives and encouraging synthetic substances. (India Times, India)
Chhath sheds Bihar tag, goes Indian Nov 16, 2007
Sociologists said the festival's scale had grown as rapidly as the migrant population from Bihar, mainly because it offered people a chance to immediately associate with their roots and culture in a manner very different from other major occasions like Durga Puja, Diwali and Holi. "The expansion of a group of people in newer and uncharted areas makes it more concerned about identity. Chhath becomes special because other festivals are not so well entwined with their place of origin, in this case... (Times of India)
Channels Suffer Following Nandigram Upheaval Nov 15, 2007
However, partners further added that the ongoing festive season, commencing right from Durga Puja to Christmas, monitors a downfall in the sale of IT products. "Generally, the market dips after Durga Puja and picks up after the month of December. As the market bestows lower revenue during this period, the bandh has only worsen the situation for the channel fraternity", said Mahesh Agarwal, partner of Dayglo. (ChannelTimes.com)
Go, Celebrate Nov 8, 2007
The Durga Puja, which was held last month, and the Ganesh Chaturthi festival earlier have seen an astronomical rise in the amount of money being spent. For the Durga Puja, it is estimated that Rs 100 crore was spent on making pandals in Kolkata while the turnover for the idol-making industry was Rs 50 crore. (India Times, India)
Don's wife denies affair with cop Nov 2, 2007
"She had come to my office to revive the Durga Puja that Ram Babu patronised," he said. The puja was stopped after Ram Babus arrest in 2000. (India Times, India)
16 working days, 15 holidays in WB Nov 1, 2007
Gandhi birthday, Mahalaya, Durga Puja, Eid, Lakshmi Puja, the weekends and the back-to-back bandhs at the fag end ensured that the state had just 16 working days this month. And 15 holidays. (India Times, India)
Delhi college V-P under scanner Oct 26, 2007
Rebutting all the charges, Ray said: "One of the complainants has recently migrated to our college and took my help in the admission process. He even visited my home during Durga Puja last week. I am surprised that students have posted such allegations against me. My conscience is clear and truth will prevail." Ray has been teaching in Ramjas for the past 34 years and is a father of two children. Speaking to TOI, one of the victims, a third-year student of political science, alleged that he was... (India Times, India)
Festival connects Indian-Americans to cultural roots Oct 21, 2007
Dave and hundreds of members of Fairfield County's Indian community, most wearing saris and traditional Indian clothes, were celebrating Dusshera, the final day of Durga Puja, one of the biggest festivals in Hinduism ... Yesterday's festival at Rippowam Middle School was the 17th annual Durga Puja celebration in Stamford, the only event of its kind between Hartford and New York City, said Dave's husband, Durgesh, one of the event's organizers ... Dave said the celebration of events like Durga... (Stamford Advocate)
Devotees throng temples on ashtami Oct 21, 2007
The Gujrati community organised Dandiyas while the Bengalis were busy with Durga Puja and the Punjabis invited little girls over for ashtami puja. While I make it a point to go back home to Ahmedabad every year during navratri, this time I am celebrating it with my friends in Delhi. (Times of India)
Now, a London techie Durga Puja! Oct 21, 2007
Now, a London techie Durga Puja ... Now, a London techie Durga Puja ... LONDON: More than 40 years after the first small Durga Puja celebrations in London, a group of Bengali techies - communication engineers and software specialists - have banded together to establish London's latest, and most professionally-run Durga Puja. (India Times, India)
Bachi Karkaria: The drumbeat inside Oct 21, 2007
As a child in Calcutta, i was fascinated by Durga Pujas Cinderella Syndrome, its power to convert our flaky locality into a glittering fairyland ... More important, despite the grandeur conjured up by richer, flashier Mumbai, any Durga puja outside Bengal is only a wannabe. (India Times, India)
Edible oil imports to tide over festival shortage Oct 20, 2007
Mustard oil is consumed significantly in the eastern regions, now in the throes of the Durga Puja festival, as part of the cuisine. In 2006-07, prices of wheat, edible oil, pulses and vegetables shot through the roof for consumers in the same period, forcing the Centre to rush through a clutch of measures to both bring down domestic prices and keep spiking inflation in check. (Economic Times)
Bengali culture thrives in Pune Oct 20, 2007
PUNE: Pass by any of the major Bengali pockets in the city such as Vimannagar, Aundh, Khadki, Vishrantwadi or Lohegaon and its hard to miss the bouyant mood on the occasion of Durga Puja. Everything synonymous with the Bengali culture like food, music and cultural programmes have come alive with more than 20 major Durga Puja mandals scattered across the city ... Over a period of time, the Durga Puja culture also started flourishing here. (Times of India)
Durga Puja pandal in south Delhi burnt down Oct 19, 2007
A major fire broke out early on Friday at a Durga Puja pandal in south Delhi but there were no casualties, fire officials said. The fire broke out at about 4 am in a temporary structure built for the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations in Pocket 40 of Chittaranjan Park ... The Chittaranjan Park area is the hub of the Durga Puja celebrations in the capital and draws tens of thousands of people to it every day of the festival that ends on October 21 with the immersion of hundreds of the magnificent... (Hindustan Times)
Puja pandal gutted in fire in Delhi Oct 19, 2007
NEW DELHI: A Durga Puja pandal in South Delhi was gutted in a fire that broke out in the wee hours on Friday, fire officials said. Nobody was injured in the incident, they said. (India Times, India)
Durga For All Oct 19, 2007
His supreme confidence stemmed from the simple fact that he had helped organisers of his neighbourhood Durga Puja lift the 12-odd-foot idol onto the podium and he hoped to clear the examinations by the grace of Devi Durga ... After 31 heady Durga Pujas, this has come to be my everlasting Puja memory, even though the incident did not happen during those precious five days filled with the intoxicating fragrance of new clothes, bamboo pandal, dhuno and everything else all true-blue Bongs associate... (India Times, India)
Puja pandals showcase rural Bengal Oct 18, 2007
Joydeep Sen Gupta Thursday, October 18, 2007 (Kolkata) Come Durga Puja and it is time for the annual shot in the arm for the dying crafts of rural Bengal ... This time around, our theme centers around a dying art form of rural Bengal,'' said Chandan Biswas, Member, Vivekenanda Park Athletic Club Durga Puja Committee. (NDTV.com)
Puja rush kicks off early in Kolkata Oct 18, 2007
The city has suddenly been transformed into a place of light and sound as Durga Puja is back after a year-long wait. The Puja-crazy Kolkatans could not wait for Shasthi to arrive. (India Times, India)
Inter-ministerial group meet on steel postponed Oct 17, 2007
The meeting had to be postponed as the Orissa government has said it would not be able to participate due to Durga Puja celebrations. Earlier, the meeting scheduled for October 8 had to be postponed by 10 days as top officials of the Steel Ministry and SAIL Chairman Sushil Kumar Roongta was in Europe attending the International Iron and Steel Institute meeting. (India Times, India -- Intl Business)
FM stations in Kolkata on a Durga Puja overdrive Oct 17, 2007
As Kolkata goes into a cheerful frenzy during Durga Puja, FM radio stations in the city are busy replicating the Puja fervour on air ... During Durga Puja, we have put together a wholesome entertainment mix to keep the city thoroughly entertained and glued to our station ... Friends FM is celebrating the spirit of Durga Puja with a high-powered on-air musical welcoming Goddess Durga. (exchange4media.com)
Simple Durga Puja attracts huge crowd Oct 16, 2007
Simple Durga Puja attracts huge crowd-Patna-Cities-The Times of India ... Simple Durga Puja attracts huge crowd16 Oct 2007, 0204 hrs IST. (Times of India)
Infotainment Oct 14, 2007
The Delhi High Court, however, ordered the organisers of the Durga Puja festivities in Kolkata not to use any characters. Hrithik RoshanNew Delhi: Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan watches during a promotional event for a motorcycle company. (Daily Times, Pakistan)
Can Sonia make the PM smile again? Oct 14, 2007
Only as Durga Puja dawns does the spotlight fall on the artisans of Kumartuli. The rest of the year, old potters' town in the heart of Kolkata has to brave oblivion. (Daily News & Analysis)
I have my own style: Sree Oct 13, 2007
Many will be surprised but I was fasting today because this is the first day of the nine-day long Durga Puja festival. I keep fast on the first and last days. (India Times, India)
Rizwanur death: Netizens raise voice of protest Oct 11, 2007
Wearing black bands in memory of Riwanur on Ashtami, the main day of the coming Durga Puja festival, asking the local puja committees to keep a condolence book in the pandals are some of the other forms of protest and expression of solidarity with Rizwanur's family that are being suggested. Rizwanur was found dead on September 21 under mysterious circumstances after his marriage to Priyanka, daughter of industrialist Ashok Todi, on August 18. (India Times, India -- Community News)
India 'fair price' shops attacked Oct 4, 2007
That may seriously affect the availability of food grain in the district in the same month as the big Hindu Durga Puja festival and the Muslim Eid festival. Analysts say the incidents are a source of major embarrassment for West Bengal's left-wing coalition government - in power since 1978 - which usually prides itself on the issue of food security in rural areas. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Sea change in DMK Oct 3, 2007
Even Marxist leaders in Bengal make the rounds of the Durga Puja pandals, claiming self-righteously that this is really a cultural rather than a religious activity. If Tamil Nadu has more ambivalent views towards Hinduism than other parts of the parts of the country it is thanks to E.V. Ramasami Naicker, founder of the Dravida movement. (Indian Express)
India's "Toxic" Hindu Idols Choke Rivers - Activists Sep 26, 2007
"The commercialisation of holy festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja has meant people want bigger and brighter idols and are no longer happy with the ones made from eco-friendly materials," said Ramapati Kumar, a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace India. "Traditionally, the idols were made from mud and clay and vegetable-based dyes were used to paint them but now it's more like a competition between households and between corporates who sponsor the idols to gain publicity.". (Planet Ark, United States)
Let the hunt for deals and offers begin Sep 16, 2007
For the Durga Puja in West Bengal, TCL India is offering a chance to win a trip to China to customers in the eastern part of India. Industry experts believe that the price discounts will not work this time. (Business Standard)
Tarun Vijay: Strengthening sinews Sep 13, 2007
Rakhi and Krishna Janmashtami behind, we are geared up to celebrate a number of colourful festivals like Ganapati, Navratras, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali. Every festival announces a celebrative mood of the people who are accustomed to welcome new births with gaiety and deaths as a window to the new another world. (India Times, India)
Teachers in Orissa to wear uniforms Sep 8, 2007
The rest of the schools will have to implement it by Durga Puja in October. "It's necessary to maintain discipline in schools and ensure a character," says Balmiki Pradhan, circle inspector of schools, Ganjam. (India Times, India)
India to celebrate Durga Puja festival Aug 31, 2007
Durga Puja, a four-day annual Hindu festival in India, will be celebrated in September or October ... Durga Puja, a four-day annual Hindu festival in India, will be celebrated in September or October ... Durga Puja, a four-day annual Hindu festival in India, will be celebrated in September or October. (Xinhuanet, China)
