About Gulshan-Banani Sarbojanin Puja Foundation
For nearly two decades, the Gulshan-Banani Sarbojonin Puja Foundation has been at the heart of one of Dhaka’s most prominent Durga Puja celebrations. Rooted in devotion, culture, and service to society, the Foundation stands as a symbol of unity and shared heritage. Beyond religious festivities, the GBSPF operates various social welfare programs to support the broader public.These impactful initiatives include annual winter clothing distribution, providing critical relief during natural disasters, and standing in solidarity with victims of violence, reflecting the Foundation’s unwavering commitment to humanitarian service.
Durga Puja, the greatest religious ceremony of the Bengali hindus, is observed all over Bangladesh every year. The “dhak” beats, the “arati” rythms, the “uludhwani” chants traverse over the blue autumn sky of Bangladesh during this joyous celebration. This puja is celebrated in a “Sharbajaneen Utshab” (a celebration for everyone) form, making this festival an essential part of our social tradition, an iconic event for a secular culture, and a mingling ground for all happy souls.
Last autumn, for the very first time, Gulshan Bananai Sharbajanin Puja Foundation (GSPF) organized a “Sharbojoneen Durga Puja” mondop in Banani Playground for the greater locality of Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara-DOHS-Niketan belt. It was a maginificent event that readily became immensely popular among the residents of this locality and all over Dhaka for the ethnic cultural presentations, grandly traditional protima & mondop, delicious prosad and most importantly, it’s welcoming secular appeal of a carnival.
This year, once again, GBSPF is all set to celebrate Shardiya Durga Puja of 2026. Once again, we aspire to uphold the spirit of amity, the festivity of merriment and the richness of our Bangalee culture through this five-day celebration, where all people from all classes, all communities and all faiths will unite to rejoice together and pay respect to Mother Durga.
We welcome all of you to come over to the our puja mandap with your friends and family to enjoy the traditional ceremonies of this land and experience a festival of devotion, harmony, color, music, rhythm and happiness.
The Mythology
Durga, in Sanskrit means “She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach.” Goddess Durga is a form of Sakti worshiped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. The manifestation of Goddess Durga is said to emerge from Her formless essence and the two are inseparable.
Devi Durga has been worshipped from about 400 AD to the present. Her literary references are chiefly the Ramayan and Mahabharat, epic and Puranic texts, and she is mentioned by name in Vedic literature.
Durga is the great goddess of the Hindus, the consort of Shiva and she is worshipped in various forms corresponding to her two aspects: benevolence and fierceness. She is Uma (light), Gauri (brilliant yellow), Parvati (resident of mountains), and, Jagatmata (mother of the earth) in her milder guise. The warrior or powerful emanations are Durga (the inaccessible), Kali (the dark power), Chandi (the fierce force), and, Bhairavi (the frenzied force).
Durga, a beautiful warrior seated upon a lion, was the first appearance of the great goddess. The circumstance of her miraculous arrival was the tyranny of the monster-demon Mahishasur.
Mahishasur had the boon of being near-immortal for his once-good deeds. Blinded by power, he ran severe torments all over to establish his supremacy and was on the verge of overpowering the heaven. The Gods were afraid of this irrepressible demon because neither Vishnu nor Shiva could prevail against him. It seemed that the joint energy of Shakti was only capable of vanquishing Mahisha, and so, the powerful Gods came together to create a unified source of ultimate power and might. Thus came the ten-armed Durga with unmatched combination of supreme powers, who went out on her ferocious mount lion to battle the indomitable demon to regain peace.
Durga is one of the angry and aggressive aspects of the goddess Shakti, whose role in Hindu mythology was to fight and conquer demons and also personify the Shakti or female aspect of any male deity. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura and restored heaven to the Gods. Since then the goddess is invoked for protection from the powers of evil. Durga Puja is observed in her honor, to celebrate her victory over evil.