Sealdah Railway Athletic Club – Durga Puja & Legacy Since 1947

Sealdah Railway Athletic Club Durga Puja — a railway community tradition

Sealdah Railway Athletic Club Durga Puja, near the busy Sealdah railway terminus in North Kolkata, is a community puja with roots going back to 1947–48. As the name suggests, it grew out of a railway employees' athletic and recreation club, and the puja has been a fixture of the Sealdah neighbourhood for more than seven decades.

The celebration carries the character of a traditional North Kolkata "barowari" (community) puja, organised by railway staff and local residents. Its location — a short walk from one of eastern India's busiest train stations — gives it a distinct, everyday-commuter flavour, drawing both locals and travellers passing through the city.

While it is less flashy than the award-chasing pandals of central Kolkata, Sealdah Railway Athletic Club's Durga Puja is valued for its continuity, community spirit and the sense of belonging it fosters among the railway community and the surrounding localities.