After a two-year gap due to work, actor Raima Sen is back in Kolkata during Navratri and is looking forward to celebrating Durga Puja in the city of joy. “It is more than just religious; Durga Puja has a strong emotional connect with Bengalis. And now since it has been recognised by UNESCO, it has got global recognition. It has a lot of emotion and sentiment attached to it, and for Bengalis, it’s like our Christmas. It is also our pride,” she says.

The actor also talks about how Maa Durga personifies strength in women: “Maa Durga embodies everything that we as women embody—strength, power, patience, motherhood and protection. She is in all of us, we all have that power in us. So, the festival is a celebration of womanhood as well.”

Recalling celebrations at her grandmother’s house growing up, Raima shares fond memories of her and actor-sister Riya Sen. “We’d bring the idol and decorate it, apply aalta and have food on the floor in banana leaves with all our relatives getting together. We would dress up in sarees, go to our friends’ house and dance. Riya and I were very particular about what we were wearing, and we would make our mother buy us matching clothes. It was all about fun and the best time of the year. But now, I prefer wearing my mother and grandmother’s sarees and jewellery,” she shares.

Raima reveals that the celebrations at her home have also changed since her grandmother passed away in 2014. “At home, we don’t celebrate much but my sister comes down from Mumbai, and we spend this festival together as a family. It’s a time for bonding. A lot of people from abroad come down to Kolkata to see the Durga Puja celebrations too. It has become a bucket list item for non-Bengalis,” she says.

The 44-year-old gets excited talking about the buzzing environment during Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata. “You can see people out on the streets, all dressed up, shopping and there is so much traffic, and the whole vibe is in the air,” she says, but adds that this year, things are different because of the doctor rape-murder incident that happened in the city in August: “The days have become shorter, two pujas are happening on the same day and now it’s just a three-four days affair. We are doing it in a small way now, but we are doing it because it’s a part of our culture and tradition. But the air is not the same as before. We are doing our best to get justice and Maa Durga has arrived. We have to pray for her blessing and protection.”