Shreya Ghoshal and Durga Puja ~ Diva & Durga

Shreya comments about her favorite festival Durga Puja, while she was getting ready to performing for Times Durgotsav Concert.

Here she goes, "My list (for the performance on 3rd October) includes recent film hits like Teri ore, Yeh ishq hai, Barso re megha as well as older, landmark numbers from Jism,'' Ghoshal said. Naturally, there will be a selection of Bangla songs; as she explained: "No Puja is complete without those.''

The Ghoshals lived in Rajasthan before they moved to Mumbai to nurture their daughter's musical talent.

"But Navratri in western India has a very different flavour from Durga Puja as it is celebrated in West Bengal. My childhood Durga Pujas in Rajasthan were comparatively muted. But, wherever you find Bengalis, you will find Durga Puja. Never mind the scale, you will usually see adults and children enact skits or sing every evening,'' the singer said.

Ghoshal's father, an engineer with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, is quite an artist. "He is an expert at crafting the artwork for the puja pandal,'' she says. "My parents are both culturally active and they have taught me to take pride in our rituals.''

Music, of course, is the highlight. Only her professional commitments leave the 23-year-old little time with the family at Puja. "In Kolkata, the city takes a long holiday. I wish we in Mumbai did so, too,'' she said.