You can take a Bengali out of Bengal but you can never take Bengal out of a Bengali. They inevitably rekindle the milieu of their ancestral land by seeking out fellow Bengalis in their new abode howsoever far it might be from Bengal. It may start with simple sessions of “adda” and pretty soon they form an association to organize quintessentially Bengali community activities like Durga Puja, Kali Puja and the like.
Valley Bengali Community (VBC) was formed in 1986 by which time there were enough Bengalis in the Valley to make the idea viable. VBC had its first Saraswati Puja in 1987. It has been organizing the Saraswati Puja ever since. From 1986 till 1992, VBC was an informal association of the handful of Bengalis who lived in the Valley at that time. It was few enthusistic individuals who played the role of hands-on manager of all VBC activities during this time. As the VBC grew, it became necessary to give VBC a formal structure so that it could serve members evenhandedly.
In 1992, Bhaskar Goswami was assigned the task of writing a constitution for VBC. The constitution, that he penned, has served VBC since its adoption. The next great step toward institutionalizing the Valley Bengali Community was in 2009 when Rita Goswami, as the General Coordinator, took the initiative to get VBC the status of a non-profit organization from the IRS. The organization achieved its latest milestone in 2016 when a group of young members successfully organized Durga Puja in the valley for the first time on a grand scale.