With the festive rhythm of Durga Puja just around the corner and the spirit of autumn in the air, cultural platform Kalasamanway organised a unique Agomoni gathering at Rehabari in Guwahati. Through engaging conversations and soulful music, the event brought alive the emotions, memories, history and cultural traditions that Durga Puja holds for Bengalis.
Designed around the festive mood that accompanies the arrival of autumn, the evening offered a warm, intimate setting for discussions on various facets of Durga Puja. Reminiscences, reflections and performances of traditional Agomoni and Sharadiya songs added to the charm of the occasion. Such a multidimensional cultural celebration centred on the festival is a rare sight in Guwahati in recent times.
Musician Sandipa Chakraborty, who curated the programme, set the tone for the evening with an homage to Rabindranath Tagore. Discussions featuring writer Sanjay Gupta and noted speaker Madan Gopal Goswami explored topics ranging from the long-standing debate between “Sorbojanin” and “Sarbojanin” Puja to the history of Durga Puja and its introduction in Assam. The audience also listened with interest to narratives tracing the transformation of royal household pujas into community celebrations and the rise of the Barowari tradition.
The gathering also reflected on how Puja celebrations have changed over the decades. There was a time when Puja annuals and special music releases were an integral part of the festivities, from the era of gramophone records and LPs to cassette tapes. Today, much of that charm has given way to digital entertainment and online shopping deals. Members of Kalasamanway, young and old, shared stories about Puja outings, festive feasts, adda and romance, drawing comparisons between past and present experiences.
Music remained at the heart of the evening. Aditi Das and Piyali Dey created a festive atmosphere through devotional hymns and songs, followed by performances from Sucharita Sanyal, Debipriya Bandyopadhyay, Paulami Dutta, Debolina Choudhury and Sushanta Choudhury.
The event was further enlivened by Anuradha Das, whose humorous recollection of a Puja that was saved after a damaged Durga idol was repaired with the head of a Shiva idol left the audience in splits. Equally captivating were the accounts of traditional aristocratic Durga Pujas in Hooghly and Kolkata narrated by Debipriya Bandyopadhyay and Kalasamanway president Partha Sarathi Bandyopadhyay. The evening concluded with a choral performance conducted by Anuradha Patra.
To complete the festive experience, a traditional feast was also organised for attendees. The organisers expressed hope that this initiative would help revive the fading culture of Agomoni gatherings and inspire similar efforts in the future, making the event a meaningful milestone in preserving and celebrating Bengal’s rich festive heritage.