Dugga Elo (Durga arrives _/\_)

Calcutta : Maa Asche

You can be nostalgic about the city anytime. While having tea missing your Lal cha, Sandesh craving at evenings or malai toast at Faltu or Kalakand of Kaka Tea. Come Puja (Pujo to be precise) and you miss that Pujo fever in the air with mind retrieving the memories cherished in the city for years and seems like “aaj hi Calcutta chala jaata hu.” To add the WhatsApp statuses of friends and Insta reels of Pujo Pandals of Chetla Agrani and Shreebhumi extract a piece of heart from you.

            Come Pujo and we see Kolkata transforming itself with whole city lit with best of lighting right from Airport to Howrah Bridge with sea of humans in between which means famous Pujo Pandal is in vicinity. The Deshapriya Park Pujo unveiled world’s biggest Thakur (idol in Bangla) in 2015 till 2022 the Pujo has constantly enriched itslef with latest being getting the recognition by UNESCO. 2015 onwards there was hardly any year till I left the city where I missed any Pujo and famed pandals. I used to list down the Pandals Pada-wise (locality) and with Activa keys in hand drive down to the farthest Pandal. I will not miss the opportunity to highlight that the visits to pandals were not on VIP passes but as a part of enthusiast. The southern Kolkata circuit of Suruchi Sangha, Chetla Agrani, Deshapriya Park, Maddox Square, Behala to name a few were mass crowd puller. The concepts were so creative that I have not noticed any theme replicated by any pandal in same year or different years. The themed Pandals will leave you in awe. The grandeur, the lighting, the sheer size, and liveliness of Thakur was a tough competition. The circuit of Central and North Kolkata which has Kumartuli Sarbojanik, Ahiritola, Santosh Mitra Square, Dum Dum park made the crowd movement still even to the extent that even those on foot cannot move ahead. It is an experience which you can only feel and no words can convey those feelings. In recent years Pujo Pandals of Salt Lake area have risen in the scale in which Shreebhumi Sporting Club is worth mentioning as is evident now and it now competes for most creative and best pandals in the city. Over the years it has unique themes like Bahubali themed Pandal, Burj Khalifa, Vatican City and this year its Disneyland which make me more Pujo sick. The only issue it faces is the space as it is situated in narrow lane unlike other big pandals which have their captive parks and offer better crowd management and theme planning. FD park, Salt Lake has made its footprints in recent years with Jurassic Park, Lilliput Island and Amazon Forest themes in last few years.
   The beauty of the Pujo time is not only during Navratri but preparations start months before. When you go to parks for walk and find that a part is covered and some bamboo structures are coming up which intensifies into 24 hrs work when Pujo nears. Visit to Kumartuli where artisans have their work shop-cum-residences will give you glimpse of Thakur's size and make. On my visits to Kumartuli on photography tour, I came to know that few idols are sent to USA and London from here for Pujo celebrations by Bengali community there. The good thing is that still the artists use local clay and bamboo as the core material unlike plaster of Paris which is used in some places for idol making.
   Pujo is a religious, social and cultural celebration where people splurge the money saved throughout the year to live fullest as evident from scores of lines in front of SreeLeathers stores in New Market, clothes shops in Gariahat, shopping malls packed and empty trays of Sondesh in Mishti shops in afternoon itself. Pujo gives boost not only to the economy but also supports small street vendors who are able to earn by stalls in Pujo Pandals. From last few years Pujo Carnival is organised showcasing best of Pujo after Dashmi at Red Road, its worth watching so go for it.
   Having spent so many years exploring Pujo (Pandal hopping) I got some tried and tested Pujo hacks. Firstly, start the pandal hopping from first day Pratipada itself. Earlier the pandals used to open from Shashti only but recently to cater crowds and partly to increase footfalls the pandals are open from first day itself, though the Thakurs' face is covered which is mainly unveiled on Shashti itself. Secondly, visit in wee hours like 5-6 AM which seems a daunting task but this is very rewarding. Though it kills the thrill and craziness part of enjoying crowd frenzy, street eating and lighting but you will enjoy this as the streets are empty, vehicles can go up to Pandals and no isssues in Parking. You can do Instragramming, Vlogging and Photobombing at convenience. Thirdly, wear sports shoes, yes you can and you should. The Pujo pandals in Kolkata allow you to wear footwear inside because deity is at distance and you can see from there only. Lastly, though Kolkata is one of the safest and petty crimes are very few, keep wallet and valuables in safety may be cross wallets. Kids below 10 are best to be at home as they will have difficult time in crowds were people queue up back-to-back.
   Happy Pujo guys and enjoy Pandal hopping, Phuchka gulping, lip smacking Sondesh, relishing garam Tel Bhaja and aromatic fish fry. Live life fullest.