Hindu festival celebrated in Cork

ONE of the most significant Hindu festivals, Durga Puja, was celebrated in Cork city this month.

At the Lough Scout Hall, the newly formed Bangladeshi Hindu Community Cork held a five-day festival which commenced on Saturday October 1 and concluded on Wednesday.

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated in September or October, most notably in Kolkata, in West Bengal of India, but also in other parts of India and amongst the Bengali diaspora.

It marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga and commemorates what Hindus believe is her victory over the demon king Mahishasura.

Speaking to The Echo, Hirok Kumar a founding member of the Bangladeshi Hindu Community Cork said the festival is a celebration of the victory of “goodness over evil”

Mr Kumar expressed his thanks to everyone who attended the community’s inaugural five-day festival which anyone was welcome to attend.

He paid a special thanks to Professor Saibal Roy, Research Professor at the department of physics, University College Cork (UCC) and head of micropower devices/systems and nanomagnetics in Tyndall National Institute, Ireland for his support.

Mr Kumar said the event would be held again next year and hoped that it could be on larger scale.

Durga Puja was celebrated elsewhere in Cork this month, including a one-day celebration at the GAA Club in Douglas on October 2 organised by the Durga Puja Cork Indian Community.