Muslims revive Durga Puja for only Hindu family living on Muslim-dominated street

A club in Kolkata with all members of the Muslim community is conducting Durga Puja for the only Hindu family staying in 13/A Sharif lane, Alimuddin Street.

A club in Kolkata with all members of the Muslim community took it upon themselves to ignite the festive spirit of the only Hindu family living in 13/A Sharif lane in Alimuddin Street--an area with a predominantly Muslim population-- by organising Durga Puja in the colony.

The Durga Puja celebrations in this lane stopped 16 years ago after a majority of the Hindu families left the area for various reasons. Last year, youngsters from the Muslim community decided to revive the decades-old Durga Puja celebration this year for the Hindu families living here.

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Sayanta Sen's family is the only Hindu Bengali family living in the area and his father was among the first few organizers of Durga Puja. Speaking to India Today, the 20-year-old student said that he was happy to see that the tradition of holding Durga Puja festivities has been revived in his colony.

"I was around three to four-years-old when the Durga Puja celebrations stopped. I had heard from my father that Durga Puja celebrations used to be held here. It's beautiful how a decade-old tradition, which died after Hindu families left, has been revived by Muslims in the area," said Sen.

The puja was revived by Tousaf Rahman, who is also a resident of the area. While speaking to India Today, he said that Sen's family is the only Bengali Hindu family in the area and that they had been upset with the fact that Durga Puja celebrations had stopped.

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