Dragons, Uttam Kumar, and tele bhaja in south Kolkata’s pandal trail

It’s that time of the year when Kolkata turns into one big open-air art festival. The city is decked out with stunning themed pandals, people step out in their festive best—shaada te laal paar saris and the works—and there’s a promise of tele bhajas and bhog at every corner. There’s devotion, there’s celebration, and joy that’s hard to put into words, earning Durga Puja in Kolkata its place on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021.

The city is divided in the way it celebrates the homecoming of Durga and her four children: Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Karthik. In north Kolkata, most pujos are held inside bonedi baris where people congregate in courtyards. Then, there are also a few contemporary-themed pujos—usually observed as “sarbojanin” pujos (organised by everybody for everybody)—thrown in.

South Kolkata’s pujo, on the other hand, has been synonymous with elaborate and often socially relevant themes—women’s safety, inclusivity, climate change, among others. The idols and celebrations here stray slightly away from the traditional forms.

Ready for my annual ritual, I step out at 6 pm in my kurta and the most comfortable pair of walking shoes to go pandal hopping in south Kolkata. This year, the city observes the birth centenary of the legendary actor Uttam Kumar, and some of the pandals on the line-up put his work front and centre.

6pm: Deshapriya Park, Tridhara Sammilani, and a tea break

I started my ambitious pandal hop with the iconic one inside Deshapriya Park, where the festival has been observed and celebrated for 89 years. The pandal—inspired by an ornate fictional temple—was gleaming in bright red and golden. The idols, by Padmashri awardee Sanatan Rudra Pal, were ethereal and taller than most statues I would encounter later in the evening.

It’s fair to say that I kicked off my evening with one of the more challenging venues; it took me nearly 40 minutes just to get into the park. 

The next pandal, Tridhara Sammilani, though, just about 200 metres away, tested and rewarded my patience in equal measure.

At the entrance, I was greeted by three open-mouthed dragon heads, their bodies shaped like tubes wrapped around each other and covering the ceiling with what looked like red hot lava. The structure was made using scrap like bamboo sticks and Velcro. Themed ‘Sur-Asura’, the aim was to depict gods and monsters sharing the same space. Alongside the main idol, thousands of Pentonic pens were repurposed to create a standalone sculpture of Durga’s face.

After being pushed out of the pandal at Tridhara like how one gets off the train at Dadar station, I made my way to the iconic Maharani tea stall on Sarat Bose Road for a hot chai while others around me ordered generous helpings of shingara, kochuri, and roshbhora. Not too far away, Maharaj, another iconic tea stall, was also doing brisk business. On the other side, Zeeshan was struggling to keep up with the incoming orders of egg and egg-chicken rolls. I reserved my appetite for the next stop.

7:30pm: Ballygunge Cultural Association, Samaj Sebi Sangha, Hindustan Park

Ballygunge Cultural Association’s Durga Puja dates back to 1951. This year’s theme, ‘Jojon’, or the philosophy of connection, explores the idea of unity. The warm yellow lights suspended from the ceiling and reflected on the mirror panels on the sides were distracting in the best way. In the centre sat the goddess, draped in white and brown.

Competing for your attention were the other two pandals in the area, the one in Hindustan Park delving into history lessons and the other into the life of actor Uttam Kumar.

To commemorate the birth centenary of the actor, the pandal at Samaj Sebi Sangha was designed like a museum. Posters of Kumar’s films, like Bagh Bondi Khela, Harano Sur, and Nayak, all hand-painted in sepia tones, dotted the pandal, accompanied by detailed write-ups on his career. There were screens playing scenes from his films, but there was hardly any time to take in all of that with the swelling crowds.

On the other hand, Hindustan Park (not to be confused with Hindustan Club) chose ‘Sphulinko’, meaning ‘spark’, as its theme. Life-sized matchboxes made up the facade. The artwork in the pandal was themed around labour history and the lives of workers in match factories, drawing inspiration from poignant historical events, such as the 1888 Matchgirls’ Strike in east London.

8.15pm: Sankar’s Fry, Campari, and Singhi Park

Sankar’s Fry, an iconic south Kolkata institution since it opened in 1997, was dishing out fish fry and other fried goodness, typically boxed into the umbrella category of tele bhaja. I ordered a fish fry. The joint is located at the corner of a building on Rash Behari Avenue that is said to be a property of Rani Rashmoni, the popular 19th-century philanthropist who founded the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple.

While on my way to Singhi Park at the end of the road, I stopped for a bite at Campari, opting for their special tandoori fish roll, while a stall across sold Masala Coke laced with generous amounts of rock salt.

This year the Singhi Park Sarbojanin Durga Puja Committee steps into its 85th year of celebrations with ‘Bastariyo’. The theme recognises the artistic heritage of Bastar in the state of Chhattisgarh—especially Dhokra art and cane craft. A chandelier made of concentric circles, with cascading rings and lanterns hanging from it, made for a pretty sight.

9pm: Shib Mandir and Mudiali Club

With a depleted reserve of will power, I finally made my way towards the last two pandals of the evening—Shib Mandir and Mudiali Club—both of which can be accessed through Sarat Chatterjee Street if one gets dropped off near Menoka Cinema.

At Shib Mandir, which steps into its 90th year, I was serenaded by a troop of Rajasthani folk musicians wearing colourful turbans, one of them deftly playing the khartal. The pandal honoured the Gangaur festival observed in Rajasthan, centered around the marriage of Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati. Inside, Rajasthani figurines and elaborate mirrorwork art found place. Of course, within five minutes of my arrival, the musicians were singing ‘Chaudhary’, a Rajasthani folk song that has become fairly popular because of Mame Khan and Amit Trivedi’s Coke Studio performance. Did one have to be that predictable?

My feet were on the verge of giving up, but willpower spurred me on. I made my way towards Mudiali Club, my last pandal for the day. It is yet another historic institution, with Puja celebrations dating back to 1935. The theme for this year is ‘Oitijhyer Lokkotha’, which translates to ‘the heritage of folklore’. There were chandeliers, the traditional daaker saaj (silver and white decorations, typically made with foil), and alpona work (floral designs like rangoli made with white paint on a red background) on the dais where the idols were installed. This pandal leaned towards a more traditional Puja.

As I retired for the day, I thought of the countless other smaller pandals I passed by and the stalls selling patachitra art or how it would have been a wholly different experience had I undertaken my journey during the day. I wouldn’t have seen the marvellous lights, the screens featuring short documentaries at Hindustan Park and Samaj Sebi Sangha would have been washed out, and Tridhara’s ceiling wouldn’t have gleamed like lava. Braving the crowds of south Kolkata has never been and never will be for the faint-hearted.