Celebrating 18 years of BalakaA Bengali Socio-Cultural Association of Noida · Sector 61Celebrating 18 years of BalakaA Bengali Socio-Cultural Association of Noida · Sector 61
বলাকা — Balaka, Sector 61 Noida
বাংলা

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Quick facts

Since
2008
Durgotsav
16–21 October 2026
Venue
Community Centre, Block E, Sector 61, Noida
Nearest metro
Noida Sector 61 (Blue Line), 3-minute walk
Entry
Free, open to all

About Balaka, ready to paste

Balaka is a Bengali socio-cultural association in Sector 61, Noida, founded in 2008 and registered as a society (Regd. No. 3291/2016). It is run entirely by volunteers. Its best-known event is Durgotsav — six days of traditional Durga Puja, with bhog served daily and evening cultural programmes by dance and music academies, community performers and invited artists. Through the year Balaka also holds Lokkhi Pujo, Shyama Pujo, Saraswati Pujo and Poila Boishakh, alongside community work such as bhog distribution and tree plantation. All events are free and open to everyone.

Press contact

For interviews, a pandal visit, or anything not answered here.

balaka061@gmail.comWhatsApp Us+91 88606 32489+91 98186 93125

Durgotsav this year

Six days of devotion, the sound of dhak (drum), bhog and unforgettable cultural evenings. Join us from 16–21 October 2026 at Community Centre, Sector 61, Noida.

Victoria Memorial

A façade of bamboo, cloth and hand-carved foam, 63 feet high and 65 feet wide. It is not built on open ground: it is built over the Community Centre itself, every dome and column shaped around the building Sector 61 walks past every day.

Unlike a conventional pandal built on vacant ground, this is an adaptive architectural transformation — engineered over an existing building, with every dome, arch, corridor and column reimagined to conceal the permanent structure beneath.

The protima this year is the last completed work of the late Shri Salil Bhattacharya. For decades his Durga idols were known across Delhi-NCR, and he sculpted for Balaka for many years.

Evening performances: Prasun Bannerjee · Ayush Gupta · Samantak & Mates · Niharika Nath · Arnab Dutta

Photos for publication

The illuminated pandal at night, Durgotsav 2024The illuminated pandal at night, Durgotsav 2024JPEG · 2500 × 1408Arati before the protimaArati before the protimaJPEG · 2500 × 1408The Durga protimaThe Durga protimaJPEG · 2500 × 1408Khichuri bhog served to visitorsKhichuri bhog served to visitorsJPEG · 2500 × 1408Classical dance on the Durgotsav stageClassical dance on the Durgotsav stageJPEG · 2500 × 1408The crowd on a Durgotsav eveningThe crowd on a Durgotsav eveningJPEG · 2500 × 1125

Click any photo to enlarge and download it in high quality. Free to use with the credit “Photo: Balaka, Noida”.

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