I wrote four rant posts as part of the My Friend Alexa campaign this month. Durga Puja begins today, and I have decided to stay indoor to stay safe amidst the pandemic. I thought it was a golden opportunity to take a trip down memory lane and revisit Durga Pujas spent in various cities during my student/professional life.
I lived in Mysore from 2009 till 2014. ICICI Bank gave me the first posting as Branch Manager in this beautiful laidback city. Mysore barely hosted a couple of Durga Pujas then. This picture was clicked in 2012, a year after I had lost Ma. It was my second puja after the wedding. I didn’t apply for leave to go home for puja that year; it was traumatic to celebrate when every small instance reminded me of my mother. We went out for dinner on the day of Saptami, and on our way back we saw the first Durga Puja of the city. Needless to say, it was difficult to control my emotions.
Durga Puja in Mysore
“I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s My Friend Alexa 2020″ campaign. This is my fifth blog post and you can read the previous four articles here.
An alumnus of Presidency College (Kolkata), Delhi University, and XIME (Bangalore), Sonia Chatterjee holds two post-graduate degrees in Chemistry and Management and an MFA in creative writing from Writer's Village University. With eight years of experience in the banking sector as a Branch Head, she took a sabbatical from the corporate world to start her blog soniasmusings.com. Her blog consistently featured in the Top Indian Blogs list from 2019 to 2024.
Her articles have been published on various digital platforms such as Women's Web, Youth Ki Awaaz, Tuck's Magazine, and Period Magazine. She was invited as a speaker at the Breaking Barriers, Kolkata 2018 event by the Women's Web, at the Women Writer’s Fest, Kolkata, 2020, and the Crime Writers Festival, Kolkata,2025.
Sonia has written two detective thrillers titled ‘Deal of Death – Introducing Raya Ray’ (2019) and ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death – A Raya Ray Adventure’ (Vishwakarma Publications, 2024) and a non-fiction book on true crime titled ‘The Sanyasi Who Became a King’ (Sristhi Publishers, 2025). Her book ‘Diary, Deceit, and Death’ was shortlisted for the PVLF Awards 2024-25 in the Best Fiction Category.
Sonia lives in Kolkata with her doctor husband and nine-and-a-half-year-old son.
View all posts by Sonia Chatterjee
7 thoughts on “My Friend Alexa Post 5 : Durga Puja in Mysore”
Must be difficult for you. Festivals have meaning only when family is there.
I understand you situation dear.. Be strong.. It’s difficult to forget the memories with mom.. We are also in home at Kolkata.. This year we are not going for pandal hopping also.
I grew up in Delhi and studied in a Bengali school, no wonder our school had the biggest pujo festivals and most of my bengali friends often invited me to pujo in their locality. This post brings back all the nostalgia
soniasmusings 
Must be difficult for you. Festivals have meaning only when family is there.
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I understand you situation dear.. Be strong.. It’s difficult to forget the memories with mom.. We are also in home at Kolkata.. This year we are not going for pandal hopping also.
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Can totally understand how difficult it is especially in festivals. But celebration is where is the family is
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It’s unfortunate but still a memory! Love your theme for Alexa!
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I have always been curious about puja out of Kolkata.. but things do come down to, happiness is where family is…
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I grew up in Delhi and studied in a Bengali school, no wonder our school had the biggest pujo festivals and most of my bengali friends often invited me to pujo in their locality. This post brings back all the nostalgia
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Festivals do attach string to the best time spent with the family, and remembrance of closed one is special .
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