10/23/2026
🌺🙏 BONGMILANTI DURGA PUJA 2026 – A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY, CULTURE, TOGETHERNESS & GRATITUDE! 🙏🌺
❤️ ১২০০+ মানুষের ভালোবাসা, অগণিত স্বেচ্ছাসেবকের অক্লান্ত পরিশ্রম, আর একসাথে গড়ে তোলা এক অসাধারণ শারদোৎসব! BongMilanti Sharod Utsav 2026 🌺 (Durga Puja - Free Entry) | 🌟Somlata Live 🎤
THANK YOU, VANCOUVER! YOU MADE BONGMILANTI DURGA PUJA 2026 A GRAND SUCCESS! 🎉
What an incredible journey! What an unforgettable celebration!
With over 1,200 community members joining us over three wonderful days, BongMilanti Sharod Utsav (Durga Puja) 2026 became one of the most memorable celebrations in our organization's journey.
From the divine presence of Maa Durga and the sacred sounds of Dhak to vibrant cultural performances, delicious Bengali food, heartfelt reunions, children's excitement, and an electrifying musical evening with Somlata & The Aces, every moment reflected the spirit of Bengal and the warmth of our community.
For three beautiful days, we didn't just celebrate Durga Puja — we recreated a little piece of Bengal, thousands of miles away from home. ❤️
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the extraordinary people and organizations who made this possible.
🌺 OUR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS – THANK YOU FOR HONOURING OUR CELEBRATION
We were deeply honoured to have our Durga Puja celebrations inaugurated by the India in Vancouver - Consulate General of India - Vice Consul Sanjay Dey and Ananda Pal.
We were also privileged to welcome several distinguished dignitaries, including:
🙏 Hon. Niki Sharma – Deputy Premier of British Columbia
🙏 Hon. Raj Chouhan – Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
🙏 Peter Julian – Former Member of Parliament
🙏 Jennifer Whiteside – MLA
Your presence added immense significance to our celebration and demonstrated the importance of cultural diversity and community engagement in British Columbia.
We sincerely appreciate your encouragement and support for our Bengali community and cultural heritage.
🌟 OUR VOLUNTEERS – THE TRUE HEART AND SOUL OF BONGMILANTI
Behind every beautiful decoration, every cultural performance, every plate of food, every successful ritual, and every smiling guest stood an incredible team of volunteers.
Months of planning, countless meetings, late-night discussions, unexpected challenges, endless coordination, and personal sacrifices went into making this celebration possible.
Our volunteers gave their time, energy, skills, and hearts — without expecting anything in return.
❤️ OUR OVERALL COORDINATION TEAM
Susmita, Amartya & Atanu
A special appreciation to Susmita for her tireless dedication across multiple departments, especially Puja rituals, volunteer engagement, and overall event management.
Her ability to support different teams, coordinate activities, and pay attention to the smallest details contributed enormously to the success of our Pujo.
Amartya played an instrumental role in bringing sponsors on board and securing valuable financial contributions for BongMilanti. From coordinating the event end-to-end to supporting logistics, setup, transportation, and operational activities, Amartya demonstrated extraordinary ownership, dedication, and leadership.
🎶 CONCERT TEAM – THE MAGIC BEHIND MAYABANO
Homarghya and Novonil leading the team with Sayak, Souvik, Mrinmoy, Piyalee, Arnab, Amit, Manas, , Shreya, Nilakshi, Subhrojyoti & Atanu
What an extraordinary musical evening!
Bringing Somlata & The Aces to Vancouver required tremendous planning, artist coordination, technical preparation, backstage support, and teamwork.
Our Concert Team worked relentlessly to bring the magic of MAYABANO to life.
🎤 Somlata and The Aces – THANK YOU FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING!
A heartfelt thank you to Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury — the Queen of Bengali Rock Music — and her incredibly talented band, Somlata & The Aces!
Mayabano was truly magical because of you! ❤️🎸
🎭 CULTURAL TEAM – KEEPING OUR BENGALI HERITAGE ALIVE
Piyalee leading the team with support from Susmita, Souvik, Alivia, Sharmi, Shilpa, Shantanav & Deboleena for bringing together our talented local performers and creating a vibrant cultural program. From coordinating rehearsals and managing performers to organizing the stage schedule, your efforts helped showcase the incredible artistic talent within our community.
TO ALL OUR LOCAL PERFORMERS, ARTISTS, DANCERS, MUSICIANS & CHILDREN:
You were absolutely wonderful!
Your passion, creativity, and performances brought colour, energy, and life to our celebrations.
Whether you were performing on stage for the first time or were an experienced artist, every performance was special.
Thank you to the parents, instructors, choreographers, and teachers who encouraged and prepared our young performers.
You are the future of our Bengali cultural heritage in Canada! ❤️
🙏 PUJA RITUALS TEAM – PRESERVING OUR SACRED TRADITIONS
Ricklina, Shyamashish and Susmita leading the team with Gauri, Lalita, Sh*tal, Snigdha, Hiya, Kheya, Subhrojyoti, Swati, Pushpita and Neil
A heartfelt thank you to our Puja Rituals Team for ensuring that our traditions were celebrated with devotion, care, and authenticity.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to our Purohit/Priest Rathin Jethu for conducting the rituals and guiding our community through the spiritual celebrations.
🍲 BHOG DISTRIBUTION TEAM – SHARING MAA DURGA'S BLESSINGS
Piyalee leading the team with Arindam, Moumita Gupta, Saurabh Gupta, Rita, Shamonnoy, Kheya, Subhrojyoti, Lalita, Snigdha & Ish*ta
Serving Bhog is one of the most cherished traditions of Durga Puja.
Thank you for your patience, devotion, and incredible teamwork in organizing and distributing Bhog to our community members.
🍛 FOOD MANAGEMENT & FOOD SERVING TEAMS – THE FLAVOURS OF BENGAL
Food Management: Arnab, Subhrajyoti & Souvik
Food Serving: Aloke, Sourav Dey, Mrinmoy, Shilpa, Manas, Riju, Namrata, Souvik, Yatin, Swati G, Swati C, Shreya, Kean, Novonil, Bipasha, Kheya, Snigdha, Saurabh Gupta, Sharmi, Gagan, Arindam & Aharshi
Managing food arrangements and serving such a large gathering over three days was an enormous responsibility.
Your hard work, patience, and willingness to serve others deserve our deepest appreciation.
You truly embodied the Bengali tradition of Atithi Devo Bhava!
🖥️ ADMIN DESK – THE WELCOMING FACES OF BONGMILANTI
Novonil led the team with Manas, Shilpa Ghosh, Sharmi Dey, Aarushie, Shreya, Nilakshi, Swapna Jessa, Alivia & Ish*ta
Thank you for welcoming our guests, supporting registrations, guiding visitors, answering questions, and helping manage the many activities throughout the celebration.
🛠️ SETUP, LOGISTICS & IDOL TRANSPORTATION – OUR BEHIND-THE-SCENES HEROES
Setup Team: Indranil coordinated the activities along with Amartya, Souvik, Divyendu, Gagan, Supam, Subhrojyoti, Susmita, Novonil, Homarghya & Atanu
Idol Transportation: Amartya coordinated with Indranil, Arindam, Gagan, Supam & Subhrojyoti
Logistics & Inventory: Soumya, Shyamashish, Souvik, Gagan, Supam, Amartya & Subhrojyoti
Before the first guest arrived, these volunteers had already spent countless hours preparing the venue.
From safely transporting Maa Durga's idol and organizing equipment to setting up the Puja area, managing supplies, and handling countless operational requirements, their work was physically demanding and absolutely essential.
Many of these efforts happened quietly, away from the spotlight.
You are the unsung heroes of our celebration, and we are incredibly grateful!
📢 MEDIA & PROMOTION – SHARING OUR CELEBRATION WITH THE WORLD
Souvik, Susmita, Shyamashish, Swati Chakraborty & Sharmi
Thank you for helping BongMilanti reach the wider community through promotions, announcements, communication, and social media engagement.
📖 MAGAZINE TEAM – CELEBRATING CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY
Souvik led the team with Partha, Gauri Waman, Abhisikta, Swati Chakraborty & Sritapa
Our Puja magazine represents the literary and artistic spirit of our community.
Thank you for coordinating contributions, working on content and layouts, and bringing together a publication that celebrates Bengali creativity and culture.
📸 PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY – CAPTURING MEMORIES FOREVER
Amarjyoti, Neil, Souvik & Saurabh Gupta
While everyone else was enjoying the celebrations, you were busy capturing the moments that we will cherish for years.
Thank you for documenting the smiles, emotions, devotion, performances, and unforgettable memories of Durga Puja 2026.
🤝 VENDOR MANAGEMENT – BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS
Arnab led the team along with Divyendu, Bipasha & Alivia
Thank you for coordinating with our vendors, managing arrangements, supporting event operations, and helping resolve challenges throughout the celebration.
Your contributions were essential to keeping the event organized and running smoothly.
🧹 WRAP-UP TEAM – THE LAST ONES TO LEAVE
Amartya led the team with Arnab, Gagan, Supam, Souvik, Subhrojyoti, Saurabh Gupta, Swati C, Susmita, Chaitali & Atanu
When the music stopped, the guests departed, and the celebrations ended, your work continued.
Packing equipment, dismantling arrangements, cleaning the venue, and ensuring everything was returned to order required tremendous effort.
Thank you for staying until the very end and demonstrating what true commitment looks like.
💖 OUR SPONSORS – THE PILLARS OF OUR COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
Organizing an event of this scale would not be possible without the generosity and encouragement of our valued sponsors and community business partners.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Annual Sponsors, and all supporting businesses.Your support represents much more than financial sponsorship.
To every business owner who chose to support BongMilanti, thank you for investing in our community and helping us grow.
❤️ OUR DONORS & CHANDA CONTRIBUTORS – YOUR GENEROSITY MADE A DIFFERENCE
A very special thank you to every individual and family who contributed Chanda (Donation) towards Durga Puja 2026.
Whether your contribution was large or small, monetary or in-kind, it made a meaningful difference.
From supporting Puja flowers, fruits, sweets, Bhog, children's meals, and magazine printing to helping with other event expenses, your generosity made this celebration possible.
Thanks to our Bhog Donors - Kheya, Moumita, Mili, Sreyashee, Sumintra, Sanchari,Swati G, Swati C, Pushpita, Snigdha, Alivia, Nivedita, Priyanka Roy, Shreyasi, Ish*ta, Sapna, Debarati.
Every contribution matters. Every act of generosity counts.
🍽️ OUR FOOD PARTNERS, CATERERS & VENDORS – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
A special thank you to Roy's Indian Restaurant, Baman's Kitchen and Inchin's Bamboo Garden for catering our meals.
We also thank all our food vendors, stall operators, service providers, equipment rental partners, technical teams, sound and lighting professionals, and other suppliers who contributed to the success of this three-day event.
📰 OUR MEDIA PARTNERS – AMPLIFYING OUR COMMUNITY'S VOICE
A special thank you to National Times Media, our media partner, for supporting BongMilanti and helping bring visibility to our celebration.
🙏 OUR COMMUNITY, FAMILIES & WELL-WISHERS – THE REASON WE DO THIS
To every family who attended, every child who performed, every parent who volunteered, every senior who blessed us with their presence, and every friend who supported us:
THANK YOU!
🌺 A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM TEAM BONGMILANTI
❤️ THE REAL SUCCESS OF BONGMILANTI DURGA PUJA 2026 WAS NOT JUST THE ATTENDANCE, THE PERFORMANCES, OR THE CELEBRATIONS.
It was the spirit of togetherness that brought 1,200+ people under one roof to celebrate our shared heritage.
এই পুজো শুধু তিন দিনের উৎসব নয় — এ আমাদের শিকড়ের টান, আমাদের আবেগ, আমাদের ভালোবাসা।
প্রবাসের মাটিতে এক টুকরো বাংলা গড়ে তোলার স্বপ্ন।
তোমরা ছিলে বলেই এই স্বপ্ন সত্যি হয়েছে। তোমাদের ভালোবাসা আর সহযোগিতাই BongMilanti-র সবচেয়ে বড় শক্তি।
আমরা সবাই মিলে, একসাথে, আরও অনেক দূর এগিয়ে যেতে চাই।
🌺 আসছে বছর আবার হবে! 🌺
Until then, enjoy these beautiful glimpses of BongMilanti Durga Puja 2026 — 80 photographs, countless memories, and one incredible community! 📸❤️
With heartfelt gratitude and warmest wishes,
Team BongMilanti
Community ❤️ Culture ❤️ Togetherness
তোমার আমার সবার পুজো!
