…The worship of the goddess then begins on the inaugural day of Mahalaya, when eyes are painted onto the clay images to bring the goddess to life. It ends on the tenth day, when the images are immersed in the river from where the clay came. Thus, the festival has also come to signify ‘home-coming’ or a seasonal return to one’s roots. Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers…..” (ref : Durga Puja in Kolkata – intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO )

Started by a few scattered Bengali families, BAMNE has kept the tradition going in Liverpool, for nearly 50 years. Today the Durga Puja in Liverpool, is a big religious and cultural event that involves not only Bengali people, but many more as it embraces the wider diaspora of the subcontinent as well as local people from Liverpool, Wirral, Cheshire, North Wales and the rest of the country as well.