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From small ‘gali ka puja’ to major community festival: Mantra Pearland’s Durga Pujo thrives
What set this year’s celebration apart was the addition of a free medical camp.
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Juhi Varma - Mon, 13, Oct 2025
- 23:20 EDT
- 31
Mantra Pearland hosted its Durga Pujo celebrations at the Orissa Culture Center on Saturday, Oct. 5. / Photos by Juhi Varma and Victor Banerjee
Mantra Pearland hosted its Durga Pujo celebrations at the Orissa Culture Center on Oct. 5. The venue was packed and filled with energy as attendees came together to honor Goddess Durga amid vibrant flowers, incense, and the smoke of a traditional havan.
Mantra Pearland is a volunteer-led, nonprofit socio-cultural and charitable organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Indian culture and values. Since its founding in 2024, it has grown into a vibrant community hub in Pearland, celebrating rich Bengali traditions through cultural programs and festivals.
“We started not as a nonprofit, but just as like a small ‘gali ka’ puja four years back,” said Vrutant Shah, one of the chief organizers.
The puja has grown steadily each year, drawing an increasingly enthusiastic response from Pearland’s Indian community, which is smaller compared to other parts of Texas. What began with just a few food and art vendors has now expanded into a much larger celebration, with growing crowds prompting organizers to move to bigger spaces.
What set this year’s celebration apart was the addition of a free medical camp. The camp offered basic health checkups—including dental screenings, blood pressure and lung capacity checks, blood tests, B12 injections, and other consultations. It was designed to serve uninsured or underserved community members, as well as visiting parents from India who may hesitate to seek medical care but feel at ease at cultural gatherings. Many were gently encouraged to stop by the camp for a quick five-minute checkup before returning to the familiar buzz of the festivities.
“It’s growing bigger and bigger, and now we're trying to identify a space,” Shah said. “It's a nice event. Durga Puja is, you know, is Bengali thing, but given the response from the community – we keep sensing a ‘everyone is united’ kind of feeling.”
The Orissa Cultural Center at 3101 Fuqua Street was inaugurated in 2021. Along with its beautiful temple and community gathering space, the campus also features a dedicated ‘goshala’ for about twenty cows, adding a unique and traditional touch to the center.
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