It is said that whenever a few Bengalis get together, squabbles break out and a Kali Bari comes up. In Saigon, the proverbial Kali Bari has been replaced by a Durgotsav that entered its second year this year, and the squabbles are well under control!

Although Saigon once formed a part of the Bengali consciousness ? Tagore visited the city in 1930 and Subhas Chandra Bose was last in the city on August 15, 1945, two days before his disappearance ? as Vietnam and India looked inwards in the 1970s and 80s, many of these historical links were forgotten.

Over the past decade, however, people from Calcutta (among other Indians) have gradually started filtering back to what is now Ho Chi Minh City. Last year, the numbers hit a record high of 11 families. More importantly, many of the recent arrivals were like-minded, and the stage was set for the first Durgotsav in Saigon.

In the previous years, addas had been held in individual homes during the Pujas. Being a small community, the organisers took pains to involve as many people as possible, without losing the flavour of a Durgotsav.

One of the local Hindu temples (there are three in Saigon) was requested to offer anjali on Ashtami.

The idol, a small terracotta image, belonging to one of the organisers, was returned to grace the altar at home after the festivities, while flowers used in the puja were cast in the Saigon river as bisarjan.

The emphasis, however, was more social than religious, and anyone interested was welcomed to join in: Bangladeshi Muslims, as well as non-Bengalis who have connections with Bengal.

Entering its second year in 2005, Saigon Durgotsav?s focus continues to remain social and cultural.

With the local Bengali population remaining stable at about 20 adults and 10 children, wider participation was expected from out-station guests from Cambodia, Hanoi and India.

The festivities started with Panchami and Sashthi, celebrated in a casuarina forest by the beach and a trip to mangrove swamps, 50 km away from Saigon. The Ashtami anjali was offered at the Sri Thendayyutthapani Temple.

Built by Tamil merchants in the 1930s, the temple houses an eclectic collection of portraits painted between 1939 and 1941 of Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, besides the usual pantheon of Hindu gods and a large statue of the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.

Anjali was followed by khichuri bhog, with a cultural programme, Prem Aar Prakriti, staged later that evening.

On Navami/Dashami, a costume spectacle inspired by Parineeta and Devdas was presented. New culinary heights were scaled with crabs, pabda, hilsa and kasa mangsho featuring in the feast.

With Durga painted on lacquer (a special Vietnamese art form) as a memento, Saigon Durgotsav 2005 was a memorable one. It brought back a piece of Bengal to a land that once formed part of the old kingdom of Champa.