Five dancers from Bangla Dance Group performing at Christchurch Diwali 2018. It is a very traditional and famous folk dance for Bengali weddings. The song is called "Lilabali Lilabali". A model bride...
Riya Goon and Sharnali Atashi Tisi from Bangla Dance Group performing at Christchurch Diwali 2018.
Ten dancers from Bangla Dance Group performing on stage at the Diwali Festival in 2019.
The murthi (statue) of Durga at the Durga Puja and Karabi Ghosh, a purohit (priest).
The most important part of the Puja are the priests who orchestrate the entire ceremony following all the conventions.
The shrine for the Durga Puja with the murthi (statue) of Maa Durga.
Attendees of the Durga Puja participating in the Aarti also known as Pushpanjali for showing respect to Goddess Durga.
A homa ceremony being performed outside the hall at the beginning of the Durga Puja.
No cultural event can ever be completed without the sumptuous food. An aroma synonymous with the Durga Puja is that of mouth-watering traditional Bengali cuisines.
A group dance performed by Shilpa Tarafdar, Jaya Bose, and Bhaswati Sarkar at the Durga Puja.
The murthi (statue) of Durga at the Durga Puja.
The murthi (statue) of Durga with offerings at the Durga Puja.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel with two young members of the Christchurch Bengali Community at the Durga Puja.
A close up of the murthi (statue) of Durga at the Durga Puja. Also depicted are Mahishasura, whom Durga defeats, the goddesses, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and the gods, Ganesha and Kartikeya.
A group photo of Mayor Lianne Dalziel and councillor Jimmy Chen with some members of the Bengali Community Christchurch
Bangla Dance Group members just after performing at Culture Galore 2020 held at Ray Blank Park. Pictured are Ankita Saha, Sharnali Atashi Tisi, Isfaqur Rahman Siddiqui, Riya Goon, Sreemoyee Tarafdar...
Five dancers from Bangla Dance Group performing at Culture Galore held at Ray Blank Park. Isfaqur Rahman Siddiqui is dancing with a model of a traditional drum (Dhol). Waiting to enter are Sharnali...
Bangla Dance Group at Culture Galore 2021 held at Ray Blank Park. The photo was taken just before the performance. Pictured are Monisha Baul Joya, Shilpa Tarafdar, Sharnali Atashi Tisi, Ankita Saha...
Members of Bangla Dance Group just before their performance for Culture Galore 2021 held at Ray Blank Park. Pictured are: Riya Goon, Shilpa Tarafdar, Sharnali Atashi Tisi (back), Ankita Saha (centre)...
Shayan Siddiqui and Sreemoyee Tarafdar from Bangla Dance Group performing at Culture Galore 2020 held at Ray Blank Park.