Events
Leicester Probashi wishes to bring the beauty and wonder of our Hindu Bengali culture to our community by hosting a variety of events and activities over the year. These are open to people of all ages interested in learning and participating in our cultural events. We have a variety of programmes including celebrating the important Bengali Hindu festivals of Durga Puja, Lokkhi Puja, Saraswati puja and more! We would love for your to come and celebrate and enjoy with us with fantastic cultural programmes, food and opportunity to meet fellow people in our homely community.
Durga Puja
Durga Puja is the most renowned, significant and widely celebrated Hindu festival in West Bengal, honouring Goddess Durga, the divine embodiment of strength and the destroyer of evil. It is a vibrant and grand festival typically takes place in the Bengali month of Ashwin (September–October). It celebrates Goddess Durga various forms, journey and her victory over the vicious demon Mahishasura, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. It is celebrated over five main days—Shashthi to Dashami. During this time, the puja pandels house artistic idols of Goddess Durga with her children—Lakshmi (Lokkhi), Saraswati, Kartik, and Ganesha. The celebration includes daily ritual worship (puja), cultural performances, traditional music and dance, festive food, and a vibrant display of Bengali art and heritage.
On the last day of the celebration, known as Bijaya Dashami, we bid farewell to Goddess Durga through religious puja and Bishorjon (immersion in water), symbolising her return to Mount Kailash. More than just a religious festival, Durga Puja is a cultural phenomenon that brings communities together in celebration, creativity, spirituality and devotion.
We celebrate Durga puja yearly and welcome you all to join us in these celebrations!
Please see our detailed Durga Puja schedule and event information below.
Lakshmi (Lokkhi) Puja
Lakshmi Puja, also known as Lokkhi Puja, is a revered Hindu festival celebrated predominantly by Bengali communities to worship Goddess Lakshmi – the deity of wealth, prosperity, purity, and household well-being. It is usually celebrated on Kojagari Purnima (the full moon night of the Bengali month of Ashwin, typically in September or October). The festival marks a time when devotees seek the blessings of the goddess for peace and prosperity. According to tradition, Goddess Lakshmi visits homes that are clean, bright and spiritually pure. This is why households are meticulously cleaned and decorated with lights including diyas (lamps) and intricate alpona (rice flour patterns) on floors and entrances to welcome the goddess. Religious mantras are performed during the puja to worship the goddess. Offerings during the puja include sweets, fruits, puffed rice, coconut, lotus flowers, and other symbolic items. Lokkhi Puja in Bengal is a more intimate, family-centred celebration focused on spiritual values, peace and harmony within our homes and communities. In rural areas, granaries and barns are also worshipped, reflecting the agrarian roots of the tradition. The celebration highlights gratitude and the hope for divine blessings for prosperity and fortune in the coming year.
Join us for our Lakshmi puja celebrations. Find more event information by following the link below.
Saraswati Puja
Saraswati Puja is a significant Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, education, music, art, and culture. Celebrated with great devotion by Bengali Hindus, especially students and educational institutions, the festival usually falls in late January or early February, on the fifth day (Panchami) of the bright fortnight of the Bengali month of Magha. On this day, devotees worship Saraswati as the source of knowledge and creative energy. Goddess Saraswati is typically dressed in white attire and seated on a lotus or swan. White and yellow are auspicious and considered to be the preferred colours of Goddess Saraswati. The colour yellow is considered to symbolise knowledge and the arrival of spring, hence, devotees often wear yellow garments and offer yellow-coloured sweets, fruits, and flowers, particularly palash or marigold. Traditional rituals include chanting of Saraswati mantras, pushpanjali (flower offerings), and recitation of Sanskrit verses. A unique aspect of Bengali Saraswati Puja is that children begin writing their first letters (a ritual known as Hathe Khori), marking the start of their educational journey. Books, pens, notebooks, musical instruments, and tools of art are placed near the idol and are not used on this day, as they are considered to be under the goddess’s blessing. The festival has a joyful, youthful spirit. In West Bengal, India, students enjoy a day off from studies, wear traditional attire (girls in yellow sarees, boys in kurtas), and participate in cultural activities and feasts. Saraswati Puja in Bengal reflects a beautiful blend of devotion, education, tradition, and festivity, celebrating both the spiritual and cultural roots of learning.
Join us in our celebrations of Saraswati Puja and our cultural programme. For more event information follow the link below.
Ananda Utsav
Our summer event of the year, Ananda Utsav is a celebration of our wonderful, vibrant and broad Bengali cultural heritage. We celebrate our history, arts and culture through a showcase of a variety of cultural performances. These include live folk, classical and semi-classical music and dance performances, natoks (plays), poetry and more! With the enormous wealth and breadth of heritage and culture within the Bengali and Indian communities, this event was founded by Leicester Probashi to expand on Rabindra Jayanti (the traditional cultural event in Bengal celebrating the life and works of the renowned writer Rabindranath Tagore) to celebrate wider cultural aspects of the ever-evolving Bengali Indian communities.
We welcome people of all ages to join us in celebrating our wonderful and rich culture.