Of the many festivals celebrated in India, Durga puja celebrations in Kolkata are worth mentioning. The city literally lights up with decorative lamps arranged in various design patterns. It is like a carnival with thousands of people out on streets for pandal hopping and celebration.
The city and places around it sport many pandals that are elaborately crafted and displayed. It is a beautiful concoction of art and culture. Pandals are places which are decorated with various items and display the idols of Durga, Ganesh, Kartik, Laxmi, Saraswati and Asur. It depicts the prevalence of good over evil. The other parts of the country celebrate Navratra and Dussera during the same time.
Most of these pandals are beautiful work of art to be watched out for. Many of them are based on particular themes that makes them more interesting. Days of hard work and brain goes behind the master pieces. Planning starts from months before the puja days and various awards and recognition makes them more competitive and a desire to rise above the previous year’s performance.
People in Bengal look forward to the five day celebration that starts with Shosti, Saptami, Astami, Nabami and ends with Dashami. Bengalis consider that Maa Durga comes to visit the people with her children and goes back to Kailash on Dashami, the day when immersion of the idols take place. The celebration includes performing puja, pandal hopping, food and unlimited adda (the famous bengali term for informal gathering and chatting). There is a pandal in almost every locality in addition to the pujas in various famous old houses of Kolkata.
The city witnesses huge number of people coming from all over. The pandals are open 24X7 for visit during these puja days. Some of the famous ones see huge crowds all the time and managing such a surge of people becomes a challenge for the police and the authorities. But these are such wonderful work of art that one forgets the pain of standing in long queues and is transported into a world of fantasy and enjoyment.
The city and places around it sport many pandals that are elaborately crafted and displayed. It is a beautiful concoction of art and culture. Pandals are places which are decorated with various items and display the idols of Durga, Ganesh, Kartik, Laxmi, Saraswati and Asur. It depicts the prevalence of good over evil. The other parts of the country celebrate Navratra and Dussera during the same time.
Most of these pandals are beautiful work of art to be watched out for. Many of them are based on particular themes that makes them more interesting. Days of hard work and brain goes behind the master pieces. Planning starts from months before the puja days and various awards and recognition makes them more competitive and a desire to rise above the previous year’s performance.
People in Bengal look forward to the five day celebration that starts with Shosti, Saptami, Astami, Nabami and ends with Dashami. Bengalis consider that Maa Durga comes to visit the people with her children and goes back to Kailash on Dashami, the day when immersion of the idols take place. The celebration includes performing puja, pandal hopping, food and unlimited adda (the famous bengali term for informal gathering and chatting). There is a pandal in almost every locality in addition to the pujas in various famous old houses of Kolkata.
The city witnesses huge number of people coming from all over. The pandals are open 24X7 for visit during these puja days. Some of the famous ones see huge crowds all the time and managing such a surge of people becomes a challenge for the police and the authorities. But these are such wonderful work of art that one forgets the pain of standing in long queues and is transported into a world of fantasy and enjoyment.
Author: Jayanti
www.travelling-souls.com
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