Durga Puja is a time to celebrate, indulge in festivities, and spend time with family and friends. The five-day celebration calls for traditional and delicious food, new dresses and saris and much more. Before the celebrations begin, there is a lot of shopping to be done to prepare the household for the coming days and to indulge in the Puja spirit.
Here are some shopping essentials to add to the shopping list —

Cleaning essentials

Days before Durga Puja, almost all households start preparing to welcome the deity with zeal and happiness. This begins with a deep cleaning of the house and the prayer room. By thoroughly vacuuming, wiping the floors, cleaning the windows, and decluttering your home, you warmly invite goddess Durga and also guests. Spending a day with your family to clean the house can make this task less tedious and time-consuming. Additionally, to make things more convenient, it is essential to buy good quality floor cleaners, mops and brooms, detergent and soap and all other essentials. Besides, with the cooking that comes with Durga Puja, cleaning essentials serve a great purpose even after the festivities are over.

Fresh produce

While traditional Durga Puja food varies from house to house, it is important to keep in mind to cook food with nutritional value to keep energy levels high. Some staple Durga Puja items include khichuri, luchi, payesh, hilsa fish, polau, potato curry, a variety of chutneys, fried vegetables, and so on. Preparing a delectable menu requires fresh and quality produce such as basmati rice, lentils, flour, fresh fish, chicken, vegetables, quality dairy products like milk, creamer, butter and purified butter, necessary spices and herbs.

One can go the extra step with refreshing juices and drinks like coconut water, lemonade, seasonal fruit juices, soda and such. It is important to keep in mind that fresh and high-quality produce contribute to both taste and nutrition, making the entire experience more pleasant and enjoyable.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Sweets

No celebration is complete without sweets. Be it as a treat after meals or to welcome guests, sweets can be both bought in stores and prepared at homes. Starting from all-time favourites like chomchom and sondesh to chanar kheer, chanar payesh, roshogolla, laddu, sweet curd and yoghurt, the list goes on. Whether homemade or readymade, the secret to any scrumptious sweet treat is the ingredients used to prepare it and its freshness. 

All in all, Durga Puja is a time to be surrounded with friends and family and create memories which we can look back upon. The preparations and attention to detail during this time goes a long way to ensure that no stone is unturned to make that possible. Starting from freshening up the house to making mouth-watering and flavoursome meals and sweets, the shopping list should include all essentials which can be used later on as well.