Pune: With Durga Puja around the corner, one of the things that devotees and food enthusiasts look forward to is the bhog or the delicious food offered to the Goddess. For the Bengali community residing in Pune, bhog serves as a nostalgic reminder of their roots and the flavours of their homeland, while for others, it presents an opportunity to explore and appreciate the rich culinary heritage of West Bengal. To ensure the authenticity of the bhog, many pandals in Pune go the extra mile by bringing in skilled cooks from Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal.
These culinary experts prepare a wide array of traditional Bengali dishes , such as khichuri (a mix of rice and lentils), labra (mixed vegetables), beguni (eggplant fritters), and payesh (rice pudding). The aroma of these delicacies waft through the air, enticing visitors to the pandals. Arun Chakraborty, who runs the Bengalis in Pune Facebook group with over 20,000 members, said, "People want to know whether the bhog is free or paid.
Some people prefer to go to pandals that serve free bhog, but others prefer to go to pandals that charge for bhog since they queue is less, the food is packed properly, and so on." Haryana Jammu & Kashmir Haryana Alliance View i Party View Seats: 90 Results Majority: 46 BJP 48 CONG 37 INLD 2 AAP 0 OTH 3 Results : 90 / 90 BJP WON Jammu & Kashmir Alliance View i Party View Seats: 90 Results Majority: 46 JKNC 42 BJP 29 CONG 6 PDP 3 OTH 10 Results : 90 / 90 HUNG ASSEMBLY Source: PValue Poona Ba.