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About Us
The BANC is a non-profit, cultural organization of Bengali speaking people in North Carolina. Our membership extends over the Bengali people in the state of North Carolina in the USA, though the largest part of our members are in the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) region. Our members include people from both east and west Bengal.
BANC hosts a few of the main events of the Bengali calendar. These include the Saraswati and Durga Puja, a Vasanta Utsav (some years) and an annual picnic. BANC sometimes also sponsors events as opportunities present themselves.
Our Activities
- Saraswati Puja
 Saraswati is the goddess of learning in the mainstream Hindu religion. For Bengali people, the celebration of Saraswati Puja is one of the more regularly observed religious/cultural ceremonies in the year. Usually BANC holds its Saraswati Puja the weekend after the date of Puja according to the Bengali panji (almanac), in the Hindu Bhavan in Raleigh. Celebrations include a religious worship or Puja (usually by a North Indian priest, assisted by a Bengali Brahmin), distribution of prasaad, a cultural function and lunch. The Bengali almanac usually places the Saraswati Puja in late January or early February.
- Vasanta Utsav
Vasanta Utsav literally means "Spring Festival". This is a celebration of springtime, a completely cultural festival. The idea of this festival originated with the great Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. The celebration is usually held at the passing of winter, which is also close to the onset of the year in the Bengali calendar. This event is not celebrated by the BANC each year. In the last few years BANC has celebrated this event jointly with the Vaishakhi celebration by the Panjabi community in North Carolina, which is a similar cultural festival, celebrating the beginning of the new year. Though the festival is entirely cultural, celebrated with songs and dance and other cultural activities, usually lunch is also bundled in.
- Rabindra-Nazrul Jayanti
 This is a celebration of the two people who are possibly the greatest poets of modern Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and Kaji Nazrul Islam. Modern in this connection indicates the last two hundred years or so. By strange fate, the birthdays of these two persons are fairly close together, both usually falling in the month of May by the Roman calendar. This has given rise to the practice of celebrating the birthdays of them jointly. BANC hosts a cultural function with songs, dances, poetry, drama etc. drawn from the works of Tagore and Nazrul, usually in the month of May, but often somewhat later. Snacks and/or dinner are usually available, free or sold with the objective of raising funds for BANC activities.
- Picnic
BANC hosts an annual picnic, usually in a community park (with shelter) somewhere in the triangle area. This is a day-long affair, with lunch provided, fun and games (especially for the kids) and good-old Bengali adda in the nice outdoors being the main objective. Usually BANC collects a contribution, expected upon attendance, specifically for this event. The picnic is held during or after the last week of August, depending upon the weather.
- Durga Puja
 Durga is the Mother Goddess according to the religious beliefs held by most Bengali Hindu people. Ma Durga symbolises defeating of evil over good. Along with her protima (sculpture), we also pray to her four children: Saraswati, the goddess of learning, Ganesha, the god of success (especially worldly), Karthik, the god of war over evil, and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. According to Bengali folklore, Durga with her four children comes to visit her parents home in Bengal once a year, for five days (this is a little different from more serious religious beliefs held by many people).
For Bengali people, Durga Puja is as much, or more, a cultural event as religious. For this reason, the celebration of Durga Puja is without doubt the greatest event on the calendar of BANC. BANC hosts Durga Puja usually the weekend after the date according to the Bengali panji (almanac), or later. This is usually in late September or early to mid-October. Donation is expected from everybody attending Durga Puja separate from membership, the amounts being suggested each year by BANC. This is because the budget of the Durga Puja is considerably more than that of any other BANC event, often exceeding the rest of the annual BANC budget. Lunch and dinner, and sometimes dinner on the day before, is provided. Puja, anjali and arati are performed. Cultural functions are also organized.
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