There is something special about Durga Puja when it happens close to home.
You do not have to plan a long drive across Pune. You do not have to choose between morning anjali and getting back home in time. You can come for pujo, meet friends, return with your family in the evening, enjoy a cultural programme and probably find yourself coming back the next day.
- This October, that feeling is coming closer to home for residents of Hinjawadi and the surrounding neighbourhoods.
- Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association is celebrating its first Sharodiya Durgotsav from 16 to 21 October 2026 in Hinjawadi Phase 2, Pune.
- But this is not being planned simply as another event on the festive calendar. It is being built as a para pujo for a neighbourhood that is becoming a community.
- If you want to understand the thinking behind that idea, read One More Durga Puja in Hinjewadi? Yes. Here Is Why.
Where is Oitijhyo Durga Puja 2026?
Oitijhyo Sarbojonin will celebrate Durga Puja at Sitai Banquet Hall, near Aarham Food Court, Bhatewara Nagar, Hinjawadi Phase II, Pune 411057.
The location makes the Puja convenient for families and professionals living across Hinjawadi Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, as well as Wakad, Maan, Marunji, Tathawade and nearby residential communities.
For many people living in Pune's IT corridor, Durga Puja has traditionally meant travelling elsewhere in the city. This year, a little bit of Bengal is much closer to home.
Before you leave, use the official Contact & Venue page for directions and current visitor information.
When is Durga Puja 2026 at Oitijhyo?
The celebration runs from Friday, 16 October to Wednesday, 21 October 2026.
Across these six days, visitors can experience a mix of pujo, pushpanjali, bhog, aarti, cultural performances, competitions, community activities, food and festive evenings.
The programme begins with the festive spirit of Anondo Mela and Alpona and continues through the main days of Durga Puja. Because individual timings can change, the best planning page is the official nirghonto.
Check the complete Durga Puja 2026 schedule for current ritual, anjali, bhog and cultural-programme timings.
Yes, there will be bhog
For many Bengalis, Durga Puja is incomplete without bhog.
It is difficult to explain why a simple plate of khichuri, labra and prasad can create so much emotion. Perhaps it is because bhog is never only about food.
You stand in a queue beside someone you met ten minutes ago. Somebody is serving. Somebody asks whether you want a little more. Children move between chairs. Friends save places for each other. For a few minutes, hundreds of different lives sit down for the same meal.
That is the kind of community Oitijhyo wants to create.
Come for anjali. Stay for bhog.
You may leave with a few more people to say hello to the next morning.
More than Pujo
Durga Puja has never been only about rituals. It is also those few days when children suddenly become dancers, accountants become singers, neighbours become organisers and people who normally meet in elevators finally sit down together for a conversation.
Oitijhyo's programme is being created in the same spirit. Expect cultural evenings, local participation, competitions, music, food, performances and plenty of opportunities simply to meet people.
And because this is the first year, there is something even more exciting about participating. You are not attending a tradition that has already been built. You are helping create one.
A Puja where women are leading from the front
Maa Durga represents Shakti. At Oitijhyo, that idea is being taken beyond the pandal.
Women are playing a central role in the leadership and organisation of the association and its first Durga Puja. The celebration also carries a wider women-empowerment message through community storytelling and cultural participation.
Read A Puja Led by Women, At Last to understand how that theme is reflected in the organisation itself.
You can also explore the 51 Nari Shakti initiative and the stories Oitijhyo wants to bring into the spotlight.
Can non-Bengalis attend?
Absolutely.
The word Sarbojonin matters. Oitijhyo may have been started by Bengali residents, but the celebration is not meant only for Bengalis.
Come if you love the festival. Come if you have never seen Durga Puja before. Come for Maa Durga, the music, the food, the lights or simply because something interesting is happening in your neighbourhood.
You do not need an invitation.
Can I participate?
Even better than attending is becoming part of it. Residents can explore opportunities to volunteer, participate in cultural programmes, contribute, collaborate or support different aspects of the celebration.
Local businesses and brands can also explore selected sponsorship, stall, display and community-engagement opportunities.
For participation, volunteering, donations or general queries, use the Oitijhyo contact page.
For business participation, visit the Durga Puja 2026 sponsorship page.
This October, don't just visit a Puja
Help build one.
Oitijhyo is still in its first chapter. Years from now, there may be photographs, stories, traditions and memories associated with this Puja. But somebody has to be there in the first photograph. Somebody's child has to perform on the first stage. Somebody has to serve the first plate of bhog.
Somebody has to be able to say, “We were there in the first year.”
From 16 to 21 October 2026, come to Hinjawadi Phase 2. Bring your parents. Bring your children. Bring your friends. And bring a little time
Come for the Pujo. Stay for the people.
The best Durga Pujas are not the ones you simply visit. They are the ones that slowly begin to feel like your own.