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Hindu Festival

Music, dance and worship herald the early days of a new culture in the Midlands as the four day festival of Durga Puja is celebrated in Birmingham for the first time in 1969.

News 1969 5 mins

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Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

Durga Puja has its origins in Eastern India, particularly amongst Bengali Hindus, and is a celebration dedicated to the ten-armed goddess of Durga. This film shot as an ATV Today local news item shows what is said to be the first such celebration to be held in the Midlands and took place at the Shri Geeta Bhanwan Mandir, which had recently opened in a converted church on Heathfield Road on the border between Handsworth and Lozells in Birmingham.