Times Square will host a two-day celebration of Mahalaya and Durga Puja on October 10 and 11, with rituals, recitations, dance and music performances, and concerts by artists from the United States, Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
PHOTO: courtesy Biswajit Saha.
Organized for the first time in 2025 by the Times Square Utsav Association ( https://timessquaredurgautsav.org/), the Durga Puja drew more than 50,000 visitors over two days in 2025, along with widespread media coverage, according to Biswajit Saha, founder and driving force behind the event. The 2026 program was announced at a press conference, where President Shashadhar Howlader announced that preparations for the festival’s second edition were complete.
Nabendu Dey, a social worker and community leader said, “After the launch of the Durga Puja at Times Square, it has gradually evolved into a grand celebration for Bengalis from all backgrounds.” Dey also recalled that Bangladeshi Hindus in New York began celebrating Durga Puja in the early 1990s.
Ashok Rakshit, an adviser to the organization and president of the Cultural Association of Bengal, described the celebration as an important gathering for the global Bengali community and invited people from all backgrounds to attend.
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The festival, to be held at Times Square for the second time, will begin Saturday, October 10, with a Mahalaya program at 11 a.m. featuring Chandipath by Satyam Roy Chowdhury. Children and teenagers raised in New York will recite the Gita under the direction of Sutipa Chowdhury, followed by a musical performance by Sangeet Sadhana Academy, directed by Malabika Chatterjee.
More than 60 dancers from Nrityanjali, directed by Chandra Banerjee, are expected to perform. Artists from BAFA and Adda Academy will also take part. The day’s concerts will feature Shah Mahbub, an artist popular in Bangladesh and New York, and Indian performer Meghla Das Gupta.
Sunday’s program will begin with Durga Puja at 10 a.m., followed by Anjali at 3 p.m. Nrityanjali artists will perform a Dhunuchi dance. The day will also include a performance by Indian artist Diyasini Roy and a concert by Jojo Mukherjee and his band.
Biswajit Saha informed News India Times that the Dhunuchi dance (or Dhunuchi Naach) is a traditional folk dance, performed during the festival of Durga Puja. “It is a difficult and energetic dance and only the spiritual and devotional atmosphere helps sustain the dancers carry the burning earthen pot in their hands and sometimes in their teeth,” Saha said. He further said that this dance symbolizes the eradication of negative energies and the celebration of the Goddess’s victory over evil, Saha further informed.
The Association’s General Secretary, Nirupama Saha, invited people to the Puja and appealed to the media for their support. She also announced that noted artist Riddhi Bandyopadhyay would join as a special guest. She is a well-known Indian singer specializing in Bengali music, particularly recognized for her expertise in Pancho-kobir gaan (songs of the five great poets) and Theaterer gaan (traditional theater songs), Saha said. Bandyopadhyay has numerous albums to her credit and frequently performs nationally and internationally, Saha added.
Other speakers at the press conference included Vedanta Society president Rina Saha; Adda Academy director Alpana Guha; organizing committee officials Anupam Dey, Rohan Rawat and Soma Mukherjee; Sangeet Sadhana Academy director Malabika Chatterjee; Nrityanjali Academy director Chandra Banerjee; and Puja priest Prabash Chakraborty.