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VADODARA, INDIA, April 4, 2003: When members of the Basu family gather on April 10 at their house in Makarpura, they will not be attending just a family puja (home worship service). They all will be witness to an historic occasion — the completion of 100 years of a family puja that began in far away Bengal and has continued more than five decades in Vadodara. The Basu family has relatives pouring in from all over the country. Elated children are helping to install the Deity, women are busy with puja preparations and men are giving instructions to workers setting up shrines for the annual “Annapurna Puja.” On April 10, as the family priest begins the prayers, they will mark a century of devotion to the Goddess who came in a dream to Harimati Basu in 1903. “Annapurna, or the Goddess of food, appeared to her in a dream and asked her to feed the hungry. This tradition has never stopped after that,” says Pubali Basu. “It has always been a family affair. Right from the beginning, every member of our family has contributed in some way or the other towards the puja. Invitations are sent out to all family members well in advance. They contribute financially and also come here and help in organizing the puja,” says Monika Sen, who has come to Vadodara from New Delhi for the occasion. “A 100 years is a big time span, and we have witnessed both good and bad times. Last year, the puja was held while Gujarat was in the throes of riots. We had to virtually smuggle in our family priest from Ahmedabad,” adds Pubali Basu.

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