LIFE AND LIES #54 | Maa eshechhe Kolkata

Maa always wanted to visit Kolkata during Dussehra. Back home, everyone does. Well, she had come with me to Kolkata before but never during Dussehra. This was my third year in the City Of Joy and if everything went according to plan, probably my last. Even I had not experienced the Dussehra here. For the last two years, I have utilized the Dussehra holidays to take a vacation outside the city. It would have been a shame if I didn't this time and Maa would have been very disappointed. I'm not talking about my mother, but the mother of the entire Kolkata: Maa Durga.

At work, the third week of October began with colors. Dress color code for the entire week: 16th - Grey, 17th - yellow, 18th - Blue, 19th - Green and 20th - Red.

When the cab dropped my parents outside my flat, they were surprised to see me wearing a Green Kurta. I was already late for office. After making some quick necessary arrangements, I left. I had nothing planned for the day. My mother needed to rest.

20th Oct, being the last working day before the Dussehra holidays, was a day of festivities at the office. Dhak and Dhunuchi competitions were the highlight of the day. It was great to see people celebrating their culture with such great passion. I spent the rest of the day finalizing the travel plan for 'pandel hopping' with the contribution of my Bong colleagues. They kept warning me to not cram too much in a day. The pandels were crowded and people had to stand in line and walk a lot. It takes hours to cover a single pandel.   

The day came to a close after a Group Dandiya Dance. When I reached home, my parents were all ready for their first outing. I hadn't planned much. I wanted to test the waters and the capacity of my parents. I booked a cab for Suruchi Sangha. That wasted an hour. Then there was the traffic and long waiting line. By the time, I could see the pandel, it was already 9 PM. And then as it came to happen, we were hurried out of the pandel as soon as we entered it. 

                 

       

The same happened at Chetla Agrani which took another 1.5 hours of traveling and standing in line. At both of these places, the pandels as well as the idols were different from whatever I had seen before. It was difficult to determine where the devotion ended and art began.

Soon we called it a night and headed back home. Maa was very tired. So much so that she didn't join us the next day. Only my father came along with me. Together, we went to Deshpriya Park and then Tridhara Sammilani.

I had reserved my main plan for 22nd Oct. I had booked a cab for the whole day. Maa was well-rested. She did the customary puja at home and after lunch, we began.

The first stop was Santosh Mitra Square. My father was elated to find that the pandel design was based on the Ram mandir that was currently being built in Ayodhya. After that, we drove to College Square where a pandel stood with a lake in the foreground. The pandel of Md. Ali Park was close by and the distance could be covered on foot. It was already dark by the time we reached Kumartuli Park. The driver had dropped us somewhere on the Strand Bank Road and we had to cover the rest of the distance on foot. Once we were done there, the driver picked us up from Sovabazar Street. 

Thereafter, we headed for Sreebhumi in Lake Town. The pandel here was trending on social media for its Disney Land theme. My colleagues had warned me that I would be stuck for hours here but thanks to the cunningness of our driver, we covered it in 10 minutes. We went to Dum Dum Park next. This was where we had to wait the longest. Having a VIP card would have shortened the waiting time. But anyway, it was worth the wait. The pandel was of a rustic design, decorated by sticks and hay, earthen pots, and earthen lamps everywhere, their beauty enhanced by the dim light. It was 12 AM in the night by the time we reached BJ Block in Salt Lake. The crowd here was immense, the reason being that the pandel here was a replica of the Adiyogi Shiva bust of Coimbatore which has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "Largest Bust Sculpture” in the world. This was the last pandel for the day after which we headed back, to reach home at around 2 AM, 12 hours after we had left.

The next day (the last day of pandel hopping), Maa was too tired to go anywhere. It was just me and my father. First, we went to Behala. There we visited pandels at Behala Natun Sangha, Behala Notun Dal (Puchka theme) and Behala Friends Club. Thereafter, we took a bus to Mudiali. Once we reached there we visited many pandels on foot, including Mudiali Club, Tricone Park, 66 Pally and Badamtala.

                                                          

All in all, I had a great time during the Dussehra of 2023 in Kolkata. My parents were happy and satisfied with their experience and returned to our hometown with many tales to tell. As for me, I have a newfound respect for the people of Kolkata. There were so many volunteers in addition to policemen at each pandel and road crossing, very beautifully managing the huge crowd. It was delightful to realise that there were at least some people in this world who expressed their religious passion through art not acts of war.

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You can also watch the full video of my first Dussehra experience in Kolkata: Click here to view

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Day 1 (20th Oct - Friday)

Suruchi Sangha

Chetla Agrani

Day 2 (21st Oct - Sat)

Deshpriya park

Tridhara Sammilani

Day 3 (22nd Oct - Sun)

Santosh Mitra Square - Ram mandir theme

College Square

Md. Ali Park

Kumartuli Park

Sreebhumi, Lake Town - Disney Land theme

Dum Dum Park

BJ Block, Salt Lake - Adiyogi theme

Day 4 (23rd Oct - Mon)

Behala Natun Sangha

Behala Notun Dal - Puchka theme

Behala Friends Club

Mudiali Club

Tricone Park

66 Pally

Badamtala 

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Special Thanks to my friends, Uttam Sikria and Swati Shrivastva who helped me plan all of this.