Netherlands’ Indian diaspora prepares to celebrate first community Kali Puja

The Indian Express · Sharanyo Basu · 2026-11-06 09:03 UTC

Founded by four diaspora families in 2024, Uchchas now brings together 9 families to organise the two-day celebration in Alphen, near Amsterdam

For the past three years, members of the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands have been working to bring a festival from home to their adopted country. This year, they are preparing to host the first community Kali Puja in the wider Benelux region, which comprises Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The celebrations are organised by Uchchas, an Indian cultural community founded in 2024 by four diaspora families. The group has since grown to nine families and aims to bring Indians living abroad together and keep Indian traditions and Bengali culture alive.

While Durga Puja has been celebrated by Bengali communities in the Netherlands for over a decade, with nearly 15 pujas held across the country, Kali Puja is relatively unfamiliar to the the local Dutch population. Uchchas is introducing the festival through a community celebration in Alphen, near the country’s capital Amsterdam, at a local community hall.

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