On the day of Mahalaya this artist got a request to make a durga idol. He did not turn it down! As a last minute effort, he spent the entire night to work on the request. Such are the passion of these artists. They don't always think of just ROI. And that makes art stay alive amongst all the commercializaion!

The effort is slowly coming to reality. The festival starts from Saturday 17th October. When I asked the artist can you complete this idol by 17th Oct, he just smiled with a tired face and said - "Sesh na korle ora pujo korbe ki kore?" - meaning "If I don't complete how will they celebrate the Durga puja".

Backdrop to foredrop - stages through which the entire year passes by. In other words, similar to this journey, people wait for the pujas to arrive (and this has been happening every year)

Durga idol for a big budget famous puja of Kolkata. The club will celebrate the pujas with lot of fanfare and will expect a lot of crowdpulling to their pandal. 

As you roam in the lanes and bylanes of Kumortuli, you will realise the wide range of idols athat are created in this place. Traditional to modern, low budget to high budget, these artists have an answer to everything

Here is an artist concentrating on his brushstrokes. He seemed to be in deep concentration and not in a worry of finishing within the timeline. Unlike corporate world where we keep doing meetings calling them as "Project Updates" (and discuss the same topic - 'can we finish within the deadline'), this artist instead is concentrating on the brushstrokes (rather than thinking on the timelines)

...and thats the reason the idol is slowly coming to life [and within the deadline :)] 

and the idol is ready waiting for the final touches while there is advanced work happening on another idol...

Such is the rush for creativity for these artists that they hardly get a breather between making two idols. Yet this is not a factory. Every idol has its own creativity, its own uniqueness....

Especially when you have to bring life in those eyes, every stroke of brush is to create that life. Hence the artists in Kumortuli are not amongst a factory of idols. They are in an art studio where they do these impeccable "chokkhudaan" again and again, in one chance and never fail.

The temperature at this point was about 35 degrees and it was quite humid and the time was about 7 pm in the evening. There was so much buzz in the roads with people talking and chatting. Nothing seemed to have disturbed the concentration of this artist. He just smoothly completed the chokkhudaan!

And another idol is ready! 

There are other forms of artists as well in Kumortuli, they focus on the flowers, ornaments, clothes that is worn by Durga when the entire idol making and painting is ready. And these are not ordered in bulk from China!! They are also made with equal intricacy in Kumortuli by a different set of artists.

There are a series of shops which make and sell these...

Immense concentration is required to create these ornaments. Here is an artist family where everyone is busy creating the ornaments.

When I asked him how long are you working everyday, he mentioned with a smile that he does not have time to count! And with the same response as the previous artist - "Sesh na korte parle thakur ready habe ki kore" meaning: If I do not complete it how will the idol get ready. Behind the fantastic idols that you see in the pandals, behind every #AsianPaintsSharadShamman, are these countless artists who actually make it happen.

Final touches to the ornaments.

Another artist busy in creating ornaments....

Once the ornaments are in place, again the artists get busy using them to give the final touches. Here an artist setting up the ornaments on the idols....

...and another artist giving the final touches when the idol is nearly ready to leave

After lots of hardwork here is a series of idols who are now ready to start off to the communities in Kolkata where Durga puja will be celebrated....

Ready to go....

Ready to roar....

All in the queue (but remember this is not a factory)

Some will head to the South Kolkata, others will head to North Kolkata 

These are a group of professional who specialise in a seamless delivery of the idols in the different pandals. As you have noticed the idols are made with clay (and not plaster of paris). Hence they are delicate. After somuch effort if a small damage also happens to the idol it becomes an irreversible damage. Hence transportation of the idols in a seamless manner is super important... 

...which is done by these professionals. They wait in big groups outside every studio and offer their help in transportation when the different clubs / sanghas come to take the idol to their respective clubs. These group of people use ropes and bamboos to drag the idols in a seamless manner. And they do that through these narrow lanes of Kumortuli and without causing any damage. Can we call this "Teamwork" and can we also call this "a six sigma operation" and can we also call this "delivering under constraints?" :)

At this time of the year it often rains without much of an advanced notice....

Kumortuli takes care of that as well. The durga is efficiently wrapped such that the melting happens only during the bisarjan or immersion ceremony and not it any way during the happy 4-5 days of Durga puja. After all the efforts here is devi Durga set to go to a pandal in South Kolkata. And there are many more in the queue...Hope you have enjoyed the journey and hope you have reached this last image in the above Kumortuli series...Happy pujas...Keep visiting www.pujomoments.in for more such creations and stories! 

Side view of idol. The entire idol was made of clay and no other medium was used in any form (including the ornamentation). Magic from artist Shakti Sharma

Look at the symmetric arrangement of clay pottery on the ceiling. Every single piece has paints of different colours elevating their beauty

Glimpse of Durga from the side wall. There was a light effect from the semi circular portico (again detailed with terracotta pottery)

The inside and outside walls of the structure showcased life of craftsmen and their family....all using the same medium of clay modeling

Front view of the idol...Simple and ethnic artistry from Shakti Sharma

The full frame of the idol. Notice the symmetry in the postures of Laxmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Karthik. The simplicity of the ornamentation matches with the overall thought of focusing on terracotta / clay modeling

As one enters the main centrestage, the ceiling was decorated with small clay pots (matir bhar typically used to have tea in Kolkata tea stalls). All arranged in perfect symmetry and painted with a white border.

The outside premises were a tribute to the life of craftsmen who have mastered the art of clay modeling and terracotta. Here is one such frame showing a couple making clay dolls

Another family at work as well as at life

This frame focuses on a terracotta artist making clay pottery. (Notice the way clay pots are arranged in the top of the canvas they way they are decorated with multi colours)

Long shot of the entire premise. At the backdrop you can see a horse symbolic to the famous Bankura's horse art.

Long shot with the entire front view of the pandal premises. You can see the huge spread over which Shakti Sharma created pandal. The centre of the premise had the large symbolic figure of a lady through which the artist wanted to talk about Bishwa Bango and its clay art (taking Bengal's clay art and terracotta to the world stage)

The first gate of entrance to the pandal premises

Offwhite colour of the idol matched well with pandal. Notice that coconut shell works in the backdrop.

The entire structure is wrapped with coconut shell with minute paintings in each of them.

Observe the different ways in which the coconut shells have been cut. They have also been arranged in all possible forms. The glossy paints used made them shine in both morning and night.

The top of the structure had open arms with a lamp at the edge. This along with the offwhite devi Durga preached a sense of peace in the pandal (especially in the evenings with all the lights on).

Peaceful rendition of Maa Durga. Also have a look at the artistic creation of asura and the lion.

Embracing peace with open arms while the blue clear sky is acknowledging the message!

Peacful. Symmetric. Artistic. Classy.

Entrance to Pallysree. Trademark Sushanta Paul style - observe the way he has used the buildings in both sides of the road and incorporated them as part of the pandal. The moment one entered this area he was greeted with a lively happy music created by Pandit Mallar Ghosh.

In the centre of the pandal are devi Durga, her four kids and asura who are also an equal party to this "Festival of Happiness". They have spread their arms in response to the vibrant music.

Spread your arms and immerse in the "Festival of Happiness"

Happiness is colourful...which is reflected in the 7 coloured chaalchitra or backdrop of maa Durga

The pandal had some revolving wheels in motion (in sync with music) which created an effect of dancing shadows in the walls of the pandal. Here is some dancing shadows in the backdrop of Durga.

Swaying lights of happiness all through the ceiling.

Revolving wheel with lights creating shadows in the backdrop...

Its the festival of happiness....let all of us dance to the happiness!

Dancing to the tune all along Utladanga Pallysree

Colourful drum (or dugdugi) kids used to play with...

Those small plastic toys that every kid used to crave for...

I remember making these paper boats and letting them sail in the ponds of my locality.

Maa Durga and her kids also wants to join the kids in their world of fantasy!

Fantasy of flowers and fantasy of colours at Dumdum Park Yubak Brinda

Can you identify these toys that were part and parcel of your childhood? A kid used to wait to visit a fair and claim his share from these visits.

The early days :)

Entrance to the fairy tale!

Gujarati art and cultural influence was prominent in the presentation of Maa Durga

The pandal had a mix of Warli, Phad and Gond styles intermixed with each other. Here is an innovative shot where you can catch a glimse of Durga through the artistic mesh...

The lake of Dumdum Park Tarun Sangha was a symbolic resemblance to Narmada and a group of pujaris were offering their prayers to Narmada.

Great resemblance to Gurjarati style

The ceiling in the centre of the pandal. The level of details is mesmerizing. This is typical Amar Sarkar style.

Every wall was a canvas of detailed Warli paintings...

An innovative way of demonstrating Gond style...Instead of two dimensional painting, a three dimensional style was incorporated...

Frontal view of the ceiling with Durga in the backdrop

When a pandal is created with this kind of thinking, light plays an important role. Brilliant use of light played hide and seek across the entire structure.

There was an importance given to life and the thought of Narmada providing happiness to life. So one could see happy people involved in celebration, music across the banks of Narmada. The background music made the imagination apt.

Happy people busy in their celebration of festivals...

Even the animals have joined the party....Narmada is provider of happiness to everyone...

The next four photos are to show the geometric symmetry of the structure...Any architect will be surprised to see that this level of structural brilliance was done only for temporary celebration of a week.

Shot 2 to show the structural symmetry

Shot 3: Synergy of colours and alignment

Anyday this can be misunderstood as a permanent structure...

As expected lots of spectators have lined up to see Amar Sarkar's creation in Dumdum Park Tarun Sangha

Great display of the seven colours along with usage of lights and symbols of peace and equally good background music.

I same 7 colours flowed into the idol of Durga and there was immense peace and happiness in her looks.

Contend. Happy. Peaceful.

Observe the symbolic use of happiness, colourful and peaceful set up (7 colours, lotus). Even the chaalchitra have is a symbolic lotus!

Modern illumination in the pandal uplifted the overall thoughts and made the colours look brighter.

Heavenly effect. Durga at a distance and moving fretworked lamp shades on each colour bands made the atmosphere magical.

More symbols of peace glowing with green rays of light

Bharat Charkra's pandal always have makes use of unique structures. Here is an example of stretched symmetric pillars with a hollow spherical ceiling through which one can see the open sky.

Vastness of open sky through the rainbow of happiness...

The entrance made use of boats arranged in the shape of petals. The boats were painted with colourful patachitra and made use of the seven colours using which one could sail in the eternal happiness.

Using traditional materials but creating a modern design is what got reflected in Bharat Chakra's pandal. Overall both Tarun Sangha and Bharat Chakra lived up to their expectations and coming all the way to Dumdum Park proved to be a rewarding experience.

Greater than lifesize camels all decorated and decked up and the villagers queuing up on their journey to collect water

Observe the detailed Rajasthani miniature works on the walls

What an amazing finish to the idol of Durga. The intricacy has not ignored any single custom of Rajasthani attires.

Look at the detailing in Ganesha, Karthik and Saraswati.

People in a celebratory dandiya mode in the palace courtyard. Observe the miniature works created on the walls.

Guarding the palace entry with help of neat camels.

Rural paintings and crafts used along the walls as one enters the main premises.

Extravagant stuff. Look at the detailing of custom and attire in each figure! The sungod (crucial belief in Rajasthan) painted in the backdrop wall. Small observation: The pots on the heads should have been proportionately bigger :)

Kumar Samvaba or the magical bond between Shiv - Parvati was Dinda's thinking behind creating this idol.

The light in the ceiling also looked equally magical (especially with the choice of colours - dark blue, purple and pink)

Common materials from our daily lives were used to create the ambience. The arrangements of the plastic buckets made it look like a flowing waterfall.

Every single drum was cut in a symmetric shape. The drum was a symbolic representation of a womb. A facade was placed in the drums and they represented female foetus. This was Dinda's way to sending the message to respect and help develop girl child.

The colour combination in the idol was an influence of fauvism. (Fauvism is a style of painting with vivid expressionistic and non-naturalistic use of colour that flourished in Paris from 1905 and, although short-lived, had an important influence on subsequent artists, especially the German expressionists. Matisse was regarded as the movement's leading figure.)

Now that you know Fauvism notice closely how an unique style and colour combination has been used.

Dinda is known to gift us a new thinking every year as far as making the idol is concerned. This year was no exception.

Entrance to the gate in the form of an arch made with oil drums.

The same imagination of foetus in the womb.

The central part of the pandal from a distance. Besides plastic buckets, chairs have also been used extensively (yellow top in the structure).

Observe the symmetry with which such large oil drums have been arranged. I think the quality of professional and high calibre work in Puja pandals in Kolkata is continuously increasing.

Chetla Agrani ended up getting a series of Puja Sharad Sanmans for their effort in 2015.

Idol of Maa Durga was created by award winning artist Subodh Roy. The entire idol was made with clay including the entire ornamentation. The colours used reflected great simplicity.

The entrance to the pandal premises. The symbol announced the reliability of Bengalis on the almanac. There is a saying bengalis celebrate "13 festivals in 12 months" (baro mashe tero parbon) which essentially means that we have more celebrations than months. And almanac or panjika is an important reference book (which updates every year) for deciding the time and date of these festivals.

Observe the simplicity on the idol. Yet the artistry that is reflected in the entire ornamentation, clothing and the chaalchitra

The centre stage of the pandal where maa Durga was placed. Every frame had some elements/symbols of the panjika (almanac).

Not only are festivals celebrated referring to the almanac, but also the dates / times of important events like marriage, birthdays. housewarming, anniversary etc. The pandal was created in a fantastic manner where all these events were captured as frames.

The layout of the pandal was very modern with lots of open air. No closed enclosure was used. This reminded me of some open air layout of art shows that visited in Europe.

More frames of the almanac. Typically this comes as a black and white book every year and also has photos of the key festivals. These frames remembers such photos.

The entire puja setup from a distance. Shibmandir is also known for its innovative illumination. Thus music and lights in the evening would create a deeper feeling in the pandal premises.

What a fantastic idol from Parimal Pal! The inspiration came from Madhubani style and the artist's clean style stood out. Especially like the way the apparels of the idols have been painted in Madhubani style.

Beautiful depiction of tree and birds sitting on the stems. All made of meshed matts.

Full of the trees made from meshed matts.

The walls had different carvings in the madhubani style. The structure was clean that it could be mistaken as a permanent exhibition.

The central part of the pandal premises where Maa Durga resided. Again observe the clean presentation of hay and matt leaves. Surrounding Durga the arrangement of thin bamboo sticks had a feeling of an infinite hollow!

Another tree and this was made with clay instead of matt leaves!

There were plenty of walls with intricate Madhubani paintings!

The entrance to the pandal had terracotta tiles arrange in a neat manner with nicely painted Madhubani trees. And along the walls were madhubani paintings.

Front view to the entrance of the pandal.

The idol has a human imagery to create the sense of dichotomy. Paul made use of a projector which created multiple reflections of this imagery. Some reflections landed behind cages while the central imagery was getting worshipped. The society needs this dichotomy to go and embrace Bijoya everywhere.

The overall design of the pandal was very rustic. This along with Ghosh's music and shankha dhwani created goosebumps. Observe the symbolic use of cages.

Light was also kept minimal. I liked the way the ceiling was created. Hundreds of bamboos were just hanged from the top. They were gently swaying creating a mild movement of the lights and the projector reflections.

Observe the reflections created through the projector!

Impressive shot, what say! :)

Side view of Durga. As the epicentre of this theme she is also standing in synergy to the dancing taals!

Dance and Music are interwoven forever. Great way to depict that connect through these interconnected terracotta pots which are curved in the form of a performing stage for music and dance.

Awning (shamiyana) providing the shadow to perform!

Maa durga standing to the dance rhythms and so are Laxmi, Saraswati, Karthik and Ganesha.

The pandal from a distance. It was a circular structure and was completely open air. The artist was confident of the weather :)

Adarsha Pally also makes a brilliant idol every. Its a ekchala pratima with a soothing and peaceful look. She makes the ambience peaceful. The main structure of the idol looks the every year. Its just the ornamentation and the chaalchitra which changes with the central theme.

A close up view of the tilkathis (thin bamboo sticks) which were tied in a close mesh using red strings.

Front view of the pratima. Spend sometime and immerse yourself in the great work of art. Observe the use of tilkathi in the chaalchitra. But at the same time also observe how original is the Durga pratima, how sabeki is the Durga pratima.

Impeccable!

Adarsha Pally do not have a lot of space but in their limited space they build innovative structures and convey their message. Watch the different sizes of ghats and how they are bound by tilkathis everywhere.

Close up view of the ghats and their binding by tilkathis. This is how the worship begins!

Many pandals choose a theme and use one material predominantly. However they also pick up other materials to complete their story. Adarsha Pally is an exception, they use only THE ONE material that is central to their theme. For example in this case they have used only tilkathi to convey their story. Same has been the case in the past years. Remember the pandal made of paddy (dhaan)?

The height of the Durga Idol was approximately 88 feet. That's close to a height of a 9 story apartment. It was built over a 6 month period required hundreds of artisans efforts. The team beat the challenge of weather (humidity, summers, monsoons) and successfully delivered the promise to allow a time inaugurations. Cricketer Sourav Ganguly was present in the inauguration of this idol. The previous tallest Durga in Kolkata was done in Saltlake BD Block about five years back and it was ~ 45 ft tall.

Close up shot of Maa Durga's face. The idol had a limestone finish with a light green tinge. It looked like a sculpture from a distance.

There goes the announcement - "World's tallest Durga"

Colourful peacock faced boats (pokhhi raaj nouka) parked along the banks of the ocean

Ripples and white roses

Epicentre where lies all the turbulence and Durga taking the centrestage to keep things in control.

A state of calmness and peace among all the motion and turbulence...

...which has percolated among Laxmi, Saraswati, Karthik and Ganesha as well

Absolute calmness in the ocean bed

Welcoming the spectators through a lovely swangate!

As you enter the pandal you can see the lovely blue ambience (lake full of water and their lotus leaves)

Ambience of the pandal would be great will the illumination in the evening!

Lets sail in the boat!

The idol was created to match the similarity of the ambience.

Main gate of the pandal. Observe the different types of patterns all made using gamuchas.

Neatly created canvases in the pandal. Observe how different coloured gamuchas have been arranged to create these canvases.

Entrance to the main gate of Rammohan Smriti!

Very nicely done idol. Great use of gamuchas as ornaments and attires!

The beautiful gamucha canvases got more life due to the illumination effect.

Chaadmela from gamucha

Another canvas creating bankura horses

The ceiling of the pandal!

Close up view of maa Durga. If you are aware of gamuchas you can observe the variety that has been used in an artistic manner.

Entrance gate to the pandal of Suruchi Sangha. Observe the fine carving of woods and the symbol of Maa at the epicentre.

I am a big fan of Naba Pal's work. Especially the eyes of Durga that he creates every year has absolute magic. Even Barisha Yubak Brinda's idol was awesome. The other ability of Naba Pal is the seamless blending of Durga with the theme of the pandal. If you see the idol closely you will see how the art of Tamilnadu has been blended with the empathy and love of Maa (Durga). The idol speaks a thousand words and I think is the most important contributor to the central theme of the pandal.

Flaming peaks with a colourful topping along the wall of the exit

The famous elephant of Tamilnadu. In South India temples are famous for their association with elephants. Great care is also taken of these elephants. Again being a high budget pujo of Kolkata, Suruchi Sangha focuses hard of detailing out their presentation!

The main shamiana (awning) of the pandal with a style core to the temple art of Tamil Nadu

Besides elephants there were also those tall horses with textile embroidery all over.

Typical chaalchitra and the traditional dance attire of Tamilnadu

Side view of the idol. It was a circular platform with the idol placed in the central position of the platform. The finish of the idol resembled carvings with premium white stone.

The pillars of the main pandal structure had sculpture work resembling that of ancient temples of Tamil Nadu.

Head held high in the bright sunny sky

Another Naba Pal creation and absolutely amazing as usual. Barisha Yubak Brinda, Suruchi Sangha and now Kashi Bose Lane - the styles of every single idol are so different and in sync with the thoughts of the pandal. This idol has immense simplicity (unlike the extravagance in Suruchi), but has an immaculate match with the theme "Meyebela".

The memories of Meyebela came to reality with those horse carts. So much of roaming around used to happen across the rooms with those horsecarts!

In the centre of the Kashi Bose Lane premises was the cute little baby and in concentric circles around her were her memories of meyebela.

Full view of the idol. The ambience was dim inside the pandal and in the ceiling there was a rotating canvas moving around with the music. This was symbolic with the time that passed by and the flashback of all those years.

View of the rotating canvas that I mentioned in the previous photograph

The full view of the ceiling along with the idol of maa Durga. Fantastic environment!

Chaatchitra was made of snow white origami canvas!

Look at the multicolour origami work in the ceiling! And to make it look even better a mix of bright and dim light was used!

The chaalchitra of Durga was multiple layers of origami in white and pink. It was creating a fantastic halo effect.

From the ceiling of the pandal were flowing long strings of silver paper origami. The atmosphere was that of a silver spring waterfall.

Golden Durga with a shining metal finish. The artist has imagined 20 hands instead of 10!

Detailed works of thermocol consisting of fine carvings! The carvings depicted the stories of Ramayana.

And there were also 3 lions instead of one!

Snapshots for the epic - Ramayana

Durga standing tall with folded hands...

The ceiling was breathtaking! 

Durga also had a resemblance with the environment of sunflowers around her

Thousands of spectators crowding to have a look at the pandal. Observe the ceiling and its resemblance with a sunflower.

Sunflowers arranged to create petals of a sunflower!

An absolute symbol of peace, she was carrying lotus instead of weapons

The ceiling also resembled a sunflower. The atmosphere was magical with the presence of Durga in the epicentre of the pandal.

There goes the honeycomb like structure with bees...

Durga was also created in the backdrop of a trinoyon. She had a calm yet determined face to get rid of the evil from this world.

The evil and asuras!

While on one side was message of eradication of evil, the other side had the symbol of power of shakti!

Trinoyoni Durga in the backdrop of a trinoyon. Brilliant piece of work by the idol maker.

Ecastatic environment with some great usage of illumination

Power of shakti, power of trishul and power of the 10 hands of Durga has been symbolically represented in the corridor of the pandal.

Main entrance to the pandal also had a symbolic representation of Durga.

The main pandal where the Durga was placed. This is the old temple that has been created. Very good finish!

Thoughly carved pillars

Shiva which is an integrated part of the temple.

Villagers where the temple is situated...

The kids have gathered to enjoy the mela around the temple. They are buying toys from the vendors around...

Trishuls arranged along the temple!

The main entrance to the pandal. Observe the lighting works on both sides. Its created an effect of fantasy!

The idol looked very different and was quite experimental...

One of the many peacocks in the pandal!

The chaalchitra of the idol also resembled wings of freedom and happiness.

The ceiling represented the sky and there was more birds out there...

The walls of the pandal had imaginative canvases of the village. The unmarried tribal ladies of the village are performing a dance and in the distance one can see a series of Karam trees.

The idol created by Parimal Pal had a good simplicity and matched with the environment of Karam festival.

The centre of the pandal was the epicentre of the festival. Tribal drums, textile, paintings and dolls were prominent in the structure.

Notice the chaalchitra of Maa Durga which is has nice tribal patachitra paintings.

Symbolic representation of Kadam flowers (which are spherical in shape). In the open space also there is a representation of kadam tree.

Music plays a big role in Kadam festival and then there is dancing to the tribal music tunes. 66 Pally tried to recreate that musical ambience with the background scores of Saki Banerjee.

The entrance gate of the pandal has the shape of a spread out Kadam tree, the main subject around which this festival takes place.

The decoration on the side wall was really nice, rural and fresh. You can see images of Kadam festival (life in the villages, festival celebration, dance moves etc.) in hay leaf plates with bamboo frames around them.

Everybody getting a musical welcome. A slightly different perspective: In this image you will see a lot of spectators wearing white hats. These were all senior citizens. A travel group along with a NGO had arranged these tours for senior citizens this year. This initiative helped in puja parikrama of many senior citizens who would have otherwise missed out on this opportunity. Similarly there are other NGOs who have initiated such trips for underprivileged children. Initiatives such as this will make Durga Puja festival more inclusive. Kudos to the NGOs and sponsors and may we have more of them!

The idol was a great piece of art. The colour combination of oxidized copper and metal was awesome!

The pots and metal wires have been connected to symbolise the womb and the ever continuity of life.

The entrance to the pandal gate....

Another way to showcase the continuity of life...

Here is the background of the story: Mount Mandara or Mandar Parvat was used as the churning rod, and Vasuki, the king of serpents, who abides on Shiva's neck, became the churning rope. The demons demanded to hold the head of the snake, while the gods, taking advice from Vishnu, agreed to hold its tail. As a result the demons were poisoned by fumes emitted by Vasuki. Despite this, the gods and demons pulled back and forth on the snake's body alternately, causing the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean. However, once the mountain was placed on the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu, in the form of a turtle Kurma, came to their rescue and supported the mountain on his back. (Wikipedia)

And there emerges Amrita, the heavenly nectar of immortality!

Great depiction of the trunks: Indra the King of Devas (gods), while riding on the elephant Airavata, came across Sage Durvasa who offered him a special garland given to him by the GodShiva. Indra accepted the garland and placed it on the trunk of the elephant as a test to prove that he was not an egoistic god. The elephant, knowing that Indra had no control over his own ego, threw the garland to the ground. This enraged the sage as the garland was a dwelling of Sri (fortune) and was to be treated as a prasada or religious offering. Durvasa cursed Indra and all devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune. (Wikipedia)

The entire idol was created in resemblance of a kaath putul. Over the past few years I have seen pandals where kaath putul was the central theme, but did not come across an idol like this.

The carving was on a single piece and the painting was bright and minute!

The pillars were carved out with care with images from rural life. Notice the intricate alpana in the platform.

The side walls of the pandal. It was a rural set up with huts and doors to entry. But one thing that was common was kaath putul.

The entire compound of the pandal had a laal mati layer to take us to the origin of the kaath putuls.

The chaaal chitra was a sum of painting and arrangement of small kaath putuls.

The walls of the entrance and exit had flow of rainbow colours, flow of water and lots of lotus buds on the verge of blooming. And this flow is in synergy with happiness and chandam (tunes or taal). 

Close up view of the idol that was created by Shakti Sharma. Durga was also part of this journey of chandam and anandam. She is in the pose of a nataraja.

The brahmin engrossed in the preparations of Mahasaptami pujas...

The basic elements of a Tala in Indian Music are known as “Tala Das Prama”. These elements are the constituents of a Tala and are also the determinants of its nature, format and size. They are Kaalam, Margam, Kriya, Anga, Graha, Jaati, Kaala, Laya, Yati and Prastaram. In the idol observe Durga is immersed in dance and how her fingers are responding to the taals.

What a chaalchitra! The symmetry, the network created through hands involved in dance tunes. Why are not idols like this preserved and placed in a museum!

The central ceiling of the pandal consisting of concentric circles and each circle talking the same language of chandam and anandam through dance!

Different avatars collected to dance were part of the canvas in the walls of main pandal. Moreover peacock was chosen as the emblem of dancing, so each element will have a connection to peacocks!

Each bud of lotus had one dance avatar inside. The kind of detailing Sharma went through in every section of this pandal is commendable!

The main structure of the pandal was a symbolic dancing peacock.

The front view of the pandal. Lucky to get a crowd free shot! (Observe how the wings of the peacock are also a composition of hands responding to the nritya taals.)

Brilliance of Naba Kumar Pal. Those eyes have magic, and Naba Pal's brush has a magic!

Chaandmela was used as a symbol of worship and unity all through the mandap.

Kadam flowers, brass plates with worship slokas and the symbolic arrangement of them interconnected in the same line!

Close up view of the walls again in the shape of a chaandmala

This idol features in the top 10 of my 2015 list.

Artistic usage of chaandmala where Laxmi, Saraswati, Karthik and Ganesh were sitting.

Durga in in the epicentre of worship, she is the source for the chaandmala.

That sabeki look!

There goes the shining engine, amongst the autumn green!

The angry face of Maa durga and her lion is determined to eradicate the evil and asura. This is the original look of devi Durga before the theme pujas have spread their wings.

The entrance had a Durga created with silver foil which was more in the form of a kid's imagination.

The idol of Durga was part of a kid's world of fantasy :)

Remember throwing those bubbles of soap with a small pipe? Hats off to the imaginative artist for recreating this...

Jumping ropes...Where have all these playgrounds gone?

Coming back from school and spending some time in the playgrounds was something that all of us used to do. It was more like a regular routine. Thankfully there were no X-Box or Playstations :)

Let pegions fly in the open sky...

Flying disc and daanguli...and those paper planes that we will fly in the classrooms!

Flying kites and making clay dolls..

Was there a more popular indoor game than carrom?

Maa Durga is embracing anondo or happiness with her wide arms...

The pandal with elements of modern popart and use of black and white colours definitely stood out...

The were three elements to be observed in the pandal. The feeling of clay / earth along with black and white colours to create the pop art effect. Secondly the symbolic happiness were shown through waves of flow across the entire pandal. Finally all along the flow were dancing life (human and animals in Madhubani style)...

Popart, flowing waves and dancing life...all originating from Anondomoyee...

and then spreading its arms of happiness across the world...

Durga was in her sabeki looks and the chaalchitra stood out. Artists from Krishnanagar were involved in its making

Brahmin getting ready for sandhi puja

Side view of the rotating idol

The ceilings had such magical lights...

Nostalgic chandelion...

The corridor was a concentric circular space around the centre where Durga was stationed. The atmosphere was vintage and classic as you can see from the effect of lights...

Hand made fans acted as the awning at the entrance.

Entrance gate - remembering the cloth pandals of Kolkata which are now a mere memory because of the theme pujas...

And there were hanging tools - hacksaws, hammers etc which are used extensively to create the pandals of the bengali festival.

Entrance to the pandal...

The entire family - Apu, Durga and their parents...

Respect to the legends Satyajit Ray and Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay

Durga is playing with her rich friend while Apu is watching at a distance.

Apu and Durga witnessing the passing train...

Apu in the village paathshala

Udayrampur was awarded with Star Ananda Jelar Shera Pujo 2015 (Top puja of the districts)

Durga in Krishnanagar style...

Moments with pishima...

More moments with pishima...

The saddest scene of Pather Panchali - the departure of Durga...

Time to leave the village...

The torn down temple of the village...

The idol was created following the Raghurajpur gharana

Imigongo paintings from Rwanda - geometric paintings on dried cowdung...

Wheels of tradition thats carrying the heritage into modern times...

Rwandan wildlife...

The droplets of blessing and peace - shantijaal

Raghurajpur paintings on the wheels of the carts...

Wheels of fortune...

The entire circumference of the pandal consisted of Imigongo painted walls...

Entire ornamentation of Durga was done using safety pins. Observe the impeccable work of art and symmetry.

This breathtaking ambience was created by thousands of safetypins tied with each other as a chain and hanging from the ceiling. A light blue light on these shining chains of safety pins made the atmosphere magical.

What an effect! This was the the 180 degree view of the ceiling of the pandal...

Metallic creativity - Butterfly using a gigantic safetypin!

Artist Parimal Pal created a look of aggression in the idol of Lake Pally

Chittara art works from Karnataka. Kolkata first saw an extensive pandal from Hase Chittara in 2006 when Gangarampur Ekata Sangha in Behala created their pandal as a tribute to Hase Chittara. Artist Chandrasekharan had created magic in the pandal of Ekata Sangha. Good to see that Chakraborty remembered Chittara again in 2015's Lake Pally puja pandal.

Detailed display of Mandana paintings of Rajasthan

More Mandana paintings...

Neat tribal set up created by Aditi...

The colour combination and the finished touches were intrinsic. Observe the white thead works along the circumference of the hut.

The backdrop of Maa Druga was a spread out arrangement of banana leaves. The attire also had a light green tinge and went well with the green background 

The full view of the idol. Observe the chaalchitra with a background of banana blossom and banana leaves.

The walls had detailed embroidery made of lay leaves, coirs and jute.

And there were lines of lokhhi pecha (owls) sitting along the line of the ceiling!

Banana and banana blossom arranged neatly on a banana trunk...

There were lots of banana trees and banana blossoms arranged outside the pandal. Looks at the series of bees and butterflies humming around them.

Circular view of the works made of coir, hay leaves and wood. Also watch how the owls are sitting in one line...

Spread out banana leaves with an owl (lokhhi pecha) sitting on top

Life of villagers with the scattered banana trees around them...

It was raining quite heavily when I visited Bosepukur Taalbagan. But the spirited spectators from Kolkata ignored that and arrived with their umbrellas in a cloudy sky. Here you see the main structure of the pandal where Maa Durga resided. It was a typical rural structure of Bengal with lots of patachitra paintings.

The idol had a unique chaalchitra in the form of a kantha (quilt) stitch saree (a famous art work of Bengal)

The sidewalls of the pandal showcasing different moments from the lives of Bengali women. Clay dolls & wooden dolls were used to depict the same.

The idol of Maa Durga was inspired from patachitra style.

Notice the detailed patachitras detailing the daily lifestyles of Bengali women. This includes the journeys of young girls as well as their mothers.

The exit gate of the pandal

Stitching a kantha saree...

The effect of sky was created with this cylindrical drums and cutouts of flying birds on them. The effect of this light in the evening was looking absolutely magical. And in the sunlight are blooming the bright sunflowers. (Note the sunflowers were made using fan blades).  Every section of the pandal resonated the feeling of "bishwavara pran".

Goddess Durga is also among the blooming shiulis (species of Nyctanthes) and lotus, resonating with life in this bright sunny world.

The main epicenter of the pandal was also created with wooden plates arranged as an array of petals.

Close up view of the sunflowers looking bright and sunny.

And then there was this symbolic gigantic sunflower spreading its petals wide open...

The durga idol had influence from Raghurajpur art forms. This gelled well with the overall theme of Nabakalebar and Orissa.

Beautiful painting using Raghurajpur strokes...

Famous Pipli art lampshades (small pieces of cloths sewn together). Observe the Pipli art human figures on both side pillars and the Pipli art canvas of Jagannath that was used in the ceiling.

Full view of the brilliant and colourful idol. Look at the symmetric chaalchitra with Raghurajpur patterns along the circumference and the minute alpanas in both corners

The dhakis taking a break after a long session!

Great display of pipli art. Canvas showcasing life using small pieces of clothes sewn together. Cylindrical hangers on both sides of the canvas.

Another display of pipli canvas! Observe the neatly created awning (another illustration of pipli art).

Pillar at the entrance which has everything you could think about Pipli art - Jagannath musk, canvas, hangers etc.

Entrance gate, pipli umbrellas, cylindrical hangers, awnings, canvases - Putiary Pally Unnayani did a brilliant effort in remembering Nabakalebar festival of Orissa.

Brilliance is the only word that comes to my mind to describe this idol. Zooming in will show the intricacy written all over (chaalchitra, ornamentation and attires)

Fishnet and detailed carvings were used to depict the story of Ramayana. Get amazed by the canvases!

Art and cacophony of the swans.

Observe the depiction of swarm of fishes and the line of swans sailing in the waters...

The entrance to 41 Pally premises from a distance. In early morning this place was looking magical.

Debotosh Kar created magic with the idol. It felt as if live Chaau artists are standing with their masks on. Brilliant!

The extravagant creation of Chaau masks were visible in every corner of Ajeya Sanghati

The mail entrance to the pandal...

Full view of the idol. (A metallic finish was given to the idol which brought memories of dokra another famous art form of Bengal)

Spectator busy clicking photos in front of this brilliance.

The epic scenes of Ramayana was on display...

Demolition of Ravana was inevitable in the Chaau representation of Ramayana in the premises of Ajeya Sanghati

Ceiling with absolute brilliance. Kadamful (or Kadam flowers made from shola) were arranged in concentric circles and lots of colourful papers were used along with kadam flowers. The perimeter of the ceiling had colourful masks which has been an attraction for all kids.

The idol was happy and was created to match the ambience and subject of this year.

Lots of colourful masks were arranged in a semicircular manner at the entrance.

Ganesha in the lap of Laxmi!

...and Karthik in the lap of Saraswati

Full view of the idol. Definitely an unique creation.

Beyond lifesize depiction of those toys that we played with in our childhood.

Remember this one? As you pull it through the lanes in your locality it makes its unique noise.

The cat running with the prawn was a regular event in the kitchen!

The main entrance of the pandal was presented in a colourful manner. It had all the elements - masks, toys, birds and animal figures that a kid can relate to.

Main entrance of the pandal. The building blocks of the pandal were made of bricks and clay dolls / terracotta dolls were arranged across the structure.

The central part of the pandal was a dome shaped with clay dolls along the circumference of the building.

The idol was a great imagination where Dasgupta imagined the creation coming from young hands.

Fantastic creativity. Observe the way Laxmi, Saraswati, Karthik and Ganesh has been arranged. Also the manner in which lion and asura has been depicted!

Colourful demonstration in the main section of the pandal. Modern form of art with different types of claywork and use of lots of colours made the place very lively.

The idol was also colourful and was painted in an imaginative way. Also like the Jamini Roy influenced style in which it has been made.

Here is another view of the central dome. 

Another view of the colourful imagination and use of clay dolls.

A good peak of the overall pandal premises. 

The depth of papier-mache art was very high in every section of the pandal. And along with that right shades of light were used.

The idol of Maa Durga was also created following the Papier-mache style. Papier-Mache followed bright lights in all their forms. That explains the bight colours of the idol.

Brilliant transformation of a global artform to create the Durga. Diversity of Kolkata's durga puja at its best.

Masks are an integral part of Papier-Mache artform. Here artist Pal reimagines that to form Durga masks.

And the masks were arrange along the walls and ceilings...

Entry gate of the pandal having different forms of papier-mache masks.

Animals were also created by different regions in Papier-mache artform during its history. Here we see depictions of the same (that originates in China and Europe).

More animal papier-mache artforms and more varieties of colours used.

Papier-mache variation in Egypt.

These uncountable turtle papier-mache models had its origin in China...

The entire pandal was decorated with chains of sakha and pola. The chain also symbolised bandhan.

The idol also had usage of sakha and pala. All the five idols were connected to each other using sakha and pala. This again symbolised bandhan.

Laalpar saree framed in a canvas with sakha-pala arranged around it.

Similarly the walls in the premise also had chains of sakha-pala. A bit of variety in the canvases would have good.

Sakha-pala-sankha, the eternal elements of worship and bandhan.

Ceiling of the pandal had a chandelier made of sakha-pala.

Place of worship for Maa Durga - a meshed wall with hay arranged in layers.

Simple yet neat finish of Maa Durga...

Courtyard where people assemble in the evenings for chat / adda sessions.

The adjoining village huts...

Look at the neat and clean arrangement of the village premises...

Front view of the main premises of the pandal...

Absolute festival brightness glittering through those Raghurajpur lampshades and around the Raghurajpur canvases.

Four pillars and the block in the middle gave it looks of a minar. And in the entire structure there was detailed Raghurajpur paintings.

Angry red look of Maa Durga - Durgatinashini

Leather paintings along the walls...

Asura

What a layered chaalchitra!

All the characters of Ramayana. Masks and lights - the lights and shades.

Symbols of life depicted in Raghurajpur style and in a geometric distribution...

Floral patterns made with the most minute brush!

The avatars of Bishnu along the walls. The pandal was so detailed that it would take someone atleast half an hour to see every piece of art that was created.

Breathtaking ceiling with its mysterious effect!

Idols such as these don't need explanation. They naturally draw worship and admiration!

Huge structure of the pandal in Simla Byam Samity grounds.

201 lamp chandelier. College Square has a bigger one!

Eso Maa Lakhhi...

Waterfall of origami along walls full of modern paper art...

Anger and counter anger - Asura and Lion...

Beautiful background of origami paper art magnified by a soothing blue light...

Even the ceiling had different types of paper art arranged in a floral symmetry...

Entrance to the pandal. The pandal had a palatial look and the detailing was done using paper...

Durga aradhana in the temple premises of the palace while the devotees are looking on...

Ministerial discussion!

Rajyasabha with the king and his subordinates...

Life of common people in the kingdom...

The guard with the Dhaal and Ballam

There are many tribal communities who worship the forest god as Bonodebota or Bonodebi. Their belief is "life exists and will exist" if the forest god blesses them. (Even scientifically our dependence on nature earth and greenery is infinite). And the tribal communities believe in the same message in their own simple way.

Serene look of Maa Durga!

Dome shaped honeycomb like structure with lots of bees storing the nectar. Both sides had a symbolic wave with flowers.

The illumination effect of the honeycomb like structure was fantastic. The artist used lots of colours here (unlike Telengabagan which was predominantly around the sunflower yellow)

Great sculpture!

Simplicity of idol in laalpaar saree. Observe the neat aalponas (patterns) on the walls.

Naru, Kadam, Chandrapuli and Paatisapta for the festival...

Its Nabanno festival, hence the place of worship has been created in a neat and tidy manner. The small carvings indicate happiness of everyone in the nature, human beings, trees and animals. And why not everyone be happy. Its time to harvest fresh crops for the year!

The side walls of the pandal had three dimesional paintings capturing the Nabanno festival.

The idol had a very human touch. The artist did a great job is creating the simplicity. The chaalchitra background of a tree is awesome.

Brillant art work with origami

This idol in Mudiali has not changed over the years

Observe the variety of paper art. Here colourful wings are created using different colours of paper...

The ceiling was an extravagant display of three dimensional origami art...

Colourful papers arranged in a folded manner...

Entrance gate consisted of birds spreading their wings...Looking great with a blue sky in the backdrop.

Determined look created by artist Prasun Ghosh

A big awning of colourful pieces of cloth indicating the harmony and diversity which Devi Durga wants to keep intact. Thats why she has stitched all these pieces together.

Maa Durga celebrating diversity and preserving it with all her power

Here the scissors are wrapped with colourful threads indicating that there is no need to create conflicts amongst humankind on any issue. Rather we should celebrate the diversity that is available.

The main pandal premise.

The scissors were used to symbolize the different splits and conflicts that mankind is creating in this society.

And a symbolic sewing machine was created to state that Maa will continuously stitch back any splits. The use of coulourful threads indicate harmony and diversity in the society.

The leaves are symbolic to Charak plant. The idol was a big deviation from the Durga we are used to see. I am not a big fan such drastic imagination. I think it kinds of dilutes the overall central attraction of the festival which is Durga!

Entrance to the pandal. Since Shiv is the core subject of Charak puja he takes the epicentre of the pandal.

The ambience of a bengal village was created with images of paddy, rural homes and flowing river with fishes.

Charak plant and offering of "anno"

There lies the ecstatic sanyasi who is revolving in air around the charak plant while the villagers are looking on!

Villagers going to offer their prayers to Shiv

Women in the village are busy with their Nil puja

Observe how the sanyasis are first struck with a bow and then hanged around the charak plant post which they offer their prayers while revolving around the tree. Apparently this painful offering of prayer would assure them a place in heaven! India still has such festivals in the interior rural villages where people / tribal communities have their own strange ways of prayers. 

View of the (too experimental) idol from a distance!

The centrestage with a colourful shamiana influenced by Raghurajpur style. And in the centre lies she - Maa Durga

Another Naba Pal creation. Naba Pal is one of the experimental artists who has created Durga Idols in many styles over the past few years. Here we can see Durga in a calm and peaceful look.

Raghurajpur style of paintings are so detailed and intricate that even after seeing them over the past few years, it never becomes boring or feels repetitive. 

The light in Yubak Brinda pandal was kept minimal and added to the mystical atmosphere. 

Lokayata Rupkatha - the festival of colours and the colour of the Sharodutsav

The idol was placed at the centre of the pandal. The finish of the idol reminds of Annapurna, another avatar of Shakti

Entrance to the pandal. Carvings in every inch of the structure!

There was a great continuum in the stories between the exterior and the interior of the pandal.

Wooden carvings have a similar finish. I am not sure if the entire pandal was prepared with so much of wood carvings!

Even the idol looked like that of wooden finish (similar to Barisha Tarun Tirtha)

The idol was created in a nataraj style by Ram Narayan Roy and had a copper finish

Detailed bamboo carving was observed in every section of the pandal.

Main entrance to the pandal. Observe the glimpse of the galloping shiva at the entrance gate.

Swaying bells and the background music added to the ambience.

There he is standing tall!

The life of a baul revolves around his ektara, an instrument with one string which gets used to generate those rural folks.

Impeccable chokkhudaan..

Maa Durga and her four kids responding to the musical rhythm of the pandal.

Series of colourful drums arranged symmetrically along the circumference of the wall of the pandal.

Nice dholak and a duitara (two strings) for the facade

The main entrance to the mandap. Watch the dholak standing tall.

Simple rural set up in the premises.

The central part of the pandal looked nice and had a good finish.

Coins everywhere around the pandal. Do you remember the five paise coin? I have memories of using them to buy candies when I was in school.

I also have memories of 2 and 3 paise coins but dont remember using them!

East India Company's half anna (period: 1818)

Everyone was appreciating the idol's design in the puja premises...

Bit of history of coins, especially for the kids

Some more history...

Why does not such idols get Best Idol Sharad Shamman. Its time for artists like Bhabotosh Sutar and Sanatan Dinda to create some magic like this.

The goddess of learning!

For a moment have a look at the ornamentation. Kumartuli's craftsmen are equally adept in making these extravagant and intricate ornaments.

Pandal of Khidirpur Yubak Sangha

The angry lion bringing the asura out!

Maa Durga in her full avatar...

Durga was in a different avatar all ready to abolish Asura and the evil from this world.

Neat execution of a temple structure.

Look at the symmetry with which the idol has been created. Laxmi, Saraswati, Karthik and Ganesha were created with immense precision.

Look at those eyes! Hats off to the artist of this Durga!

Determined Maa Durga all set for Asura nidhan.

One word to describe this idol: Beautiful

Ceiling with an extravagant lampshade.

Laxmi!

Amazing stuff. Great detailing of the idol. The artist used an innovative way of painting the idol with Durga having all the colours while the chaalchitra and the four kids are in greyscale.

The idol was well made with an influence of Dokra in the ornamentation of Maa Durga.

The other good thing that they did was organizing a few stalls of dokra artists exhibiting their works. Here you see one such display of great Dokra collections.

The pandal lacked the intricacy thats expected from an important theme like this.

The canvases were left blank. Definitely needed a detailed frame of dokra art in each of those blank canvases.

Maa Durga was also in the mood of meditation talking to the central theme!

The walls of the pandal had different yoga poses.

Spreading her arms wide open and preaching yoga to all.

The centre of the pandal talking to the viewers about this years theme.

One of the things that happens in a meticulous manner in the parar pujos is the actual aradhana of Durga. Its Nabami evening and you can see the intensity of puja through the innumerable garlands around the idols.

A Simple traditional cloth pandal is generally put up. Most of the budgets will parked for recreation events like - Sit and Draw competition, Cultural event, Afternoon lunch where entire para will not cook and gather over a sumptuous lunch.

Adjacent to Arabinda Pally is a big pond which they use for lighting the area during the puja. The entire arrangement gets a reflection in the pond making it look magical.

...and then you have the nice club premises of Arabinda where the club committee puts up umbrellas and numerous chairs. People from the para irrespective of their age, background gather and spend their evening over an adda. These are the simple but priceless moments of a parar pujo of Kolkata

Signature, traditional Durga pratima of Player's Corner. There are some pujos in Kolkata (Players Corner, Bagbazar, Aheritola who have been proponents of this original ekchala pratima). Its a freshness to our eyes amongst the theme pujos of Kolkata

Chandannagar's famous lighting at work!

Its not a theme pujo, but look at the long queues of people!

Chandannagar can become a global industry for illumination if there was enough marketing.

Kids playing in a park and having a ride of see-saw!

Sharad Subhechha from Players Corner!

Couple in a colourful attire involved in a vibrant Dandiya dance.

Extravagant detailing in the idol. Milan Mandir is known to get its idol from the top artists of Kumartuli. This year was no exception.

The pandal decoration was made with dandiya sticks.

Two friends busy with their dandiya steps...

...while another couple are in a whirlwind of their dandiya moves...

Great illumination...The elephants marching in the world of fantasy!

And another couple busy with their dandiya steps!

Simple idol with nice long eyes (patal chera chokh - remember the famous paintings from artist Jamini Roy?)

Everything made in the pandal were different kinds of plastic, leather or fibre footballs

Looks like the club members are staunch fans of Mohunbagan!

Fantastic entrance to the pandal. Use of seven colours of rainbow and the galloping horses symbolizing happiness and energy.

Complimenting to the colourful pandal the walls alongside were neatly painted to showcase a bright sunny day with blue sky and colourful flowers.

Happy and colourful Durga reflecting the same seven rainbow colours.

Main pandal was a neatly created temple mostly having intricate works of bamboo.

The idol also had a wood finish. The finishing of the idol was fantastic with polishes varnish adding to the glow.

The ceiling having lampshades made of bamboo and straw!

Entrance to the pandal was a life size bullock cart. The amagamation of creativity in Kolkata's pujas is really breathtaking!

Great work of bamboos and matts

The stories and the messages for respect and upliftment of womanhood were depicted through these canvas made of straws and wood chips. The message was to encourage education for the girl child and help her be successful in all fronts of life.

These social messages are good for the society. While people come to enjoy the puja pandals, they also take home some learnings and insightful thinking!

The wall inside the pandal had curved out figurines in innumerable count.

Maa Durga was the symbol of peace along with her four kids. There was also a complimentary background music echoing the same sentiments.

Not in a mood to fight. She is offering peace to the world.

Looks exactly like the Auroville of Pondicherry.

In the balance of light and shadow peace will prevail...

....and all the evil for this earth will perish!

The pandal had the feeling of a cave and the idol of Maa Durga resembled the ambience.

Dedication and prayers on the occassion of mahaashtami. Notice the wall painted in the style of cave paintings.

After the pushpanjali people do not throw the flowers. Its collected in the basket and then the basket of flowers offered to Durga's footsteps.

The pushpanjali happens in 4 rounds. This is the final round when people offer the final prayer. In the final round they do not use flowers. Its prayer offered with folded hands.

The layout of the pandal from a distance. The concept was quite unique. Observe the way the flying birds were depicted using woven hay strings. Also lots of clods of clay (mati or khiti) was used across the pandal. Some were burnt into a terracotta colours, others were painted with natural colours.

The idol of devi Durga also had a full effect of pure clay. Not much colours were used to keep the presentation in sync with the central theme.

The ceiling and the walls were very well presented. Strings of clay clods connected as a chain and painted in different colours were hanging from the ceiling,

The full view of the idol. It was presented as if the idol has been carved in a huge pile of clay!

Along the side walls, these outstanding gardens were created using with just clay! The clay clods depicted the soil on which have sprung different plants which are blossomed with flowers. The flowers were represented with clay pots cut in different styles.

Here are more flowers!

Infinite strings of clay clods hanging from the ceiling...

Birds flying through the blue sky. The creativity of an artist comes through if they can get the imagination rolling for the spectators. Malay and Subhamay has been successful in doing that in Pally Mangal Samity.

Bird created with ropes make of coconut shells...

Entrance to the pandal. There was a nice rustic and rural music in the background. The structure at the entrance shows the connect of everything to khiti (soil). Everything around us has the roots flowing into khiti.

The pandal was conceptualised by the members of Santoshpur Sagnik club. It was layered structure made with hay and mud. It had the shape of a rural place of worship.

The idol was made by Prafulla Biswas from Krishnanagar. The styles of Krishnanagar idols are different from the ones of Kumartuli. Its actually quite easy for a seasoned pair of eyes to identify a Krishnanagar idol.

All ready for the Mahasaptami puja daan

Neatly cut fruits arranges in bronze, brass and copper plates. After puja these fruits (prasad) will be distributed among the people in the pandal premises. In childhood days this distribution was a thrilling moment everyday after the puja.

Shivji having the privilege of continuous spring bath!

Another important element of puja is the Bhog daan. This is an ideal platter for the same. Most families will offer bhog atleast once during the Durga puja and will keep the same as the lunch menu for the day.

The flames of mahasaptami...

Innovative Stupa shaped pandal with lots of thin wood work...

The walls of the interiors did not have much detailing!

The blue background of the idol with a metal finish brought in a great sense of peace!

Done shaped structure with focused led lights graced the ceiling.

Spectators are immersed in the nostalgic atmosphere of Paschim Bari. Maa durga is visible through the pillars.

The idol is a traditional one in one chaalchitra.

The original styles of Durga and Asura which is nearly missing in the theme pujas of Kolkata nowadays!

The arches of paschim which has been a witness to history over the years

Close up view of the idol

Local residents of Taki and even visitors from Kolkata (like me) have gathered to have a look at the Taki Paschim Bari Orchid Durga Puja

Taki has a history since the times of Mughal emperors Akbar and Jehangir. There are four heritage houses in Taki - Purba Bari, Paschim Bari, Uttar Bari and Dakshin Bari who complete each other even today. These houses are nearly extinct today. Taki Orchid Club has owned the pillars of Taki's Paschim Bari and celebrates their Durga Puja in the main pavement of Paschim Bari.

The Paschim Bari (Western House) was laid by Ajitnath Munsi. This is the house where foundation stone of Taki Ramkrishna Mission was first laid. Today it has moved to an independent premise. Taki Orchid Club has been celebrating the Durga Puja in Paschim Bari for 17 years now. The atmosphere is nostalgic and smells of history through its simplicity.

Most of the idols in the region were locally made in Bashirhat or Taki. Observe the background scenery in the chaalchitra. Such an idol will be a centre of attraction for visitors in Kolkata around the period of 1985-1990.

Cloth pandals. Mostly the decorator groups who specialise in making these pandals come from Medinipur region.

Full view of the colourful idol. The nice idol was created by artist Bikas Majumdar from Taki Kundupara More.

The other attraction of Durga Pujas in my childhood were the melas or different variety of shops that would gather around the puja pandals. In between seeing the pandals I would fulfil my wishes of having one or two toying or having a quick snack of jhaal muri or phuchka. Those memories came back with these stalls outside of Taki United. Here is one stall which was selling ballons and different types of toys.

Another toy store with more modern collection of toys.

Do you remember these ice cream vendors. Most of them have vanished Kolkata under the heavy marketing of popular brands like Kwality Walls, Amul etc. Here is a ice-cream vendor Karunamoyee Ice Creams from Taki Kundu Para who was in high demand that evening. It reminded me of the Tuhin Ice-cream which used to visit our para everyday during my childhood days. Most of the purchases were ice bars and having a cup ice-cream or a cone was only on important occasions [birthday or performing very well in Mathematics in the class tests :-) ]

Simple idol with Shola ornamentation. The artist is Sanjay Ghosh from Hasnabad (North 24 parganas)

Bamboo and cloth pandal

Nicely done idol in Rajasthani style.

Balancing three pots on her head :)

The illuminated ceiling!

Some crafting using plastic forks and the famous kulo (Kulo is used in India to clean rice / pulses of any small grains or particles that may be mixed with it)

Entrance to Taki recreation. It was evening time and quite a few spectators lined up to visit this puja.

Simple cloth pandal!

Idol made by an artist from Basirhat

Illumination was all from Chandannagar

An idol from a barir pujo has been taken to a boat for immersion. Observe how the idol is placed on wooden planks in between two boats. Also see India's flag on the boats which is a common sight in the boats in Ichamati. As the boats move in different direction the immersion happens.

With parting boats happens the bisharjan and its time for Maa Durga to bid goodbye to all of us.

Here is one of the many ghats along Taki's ichamati river. Members from a barir pujo (quite a few houses in Taki celebrate Durga Puja in their house, this has been happening since hundred plus years in some of the houses) have gathered after Bijayadashami's sindur khela and just completed immersion of the idol. Now its time to wait for next year.

After the immersion there are kids who drag the idol deep in the waters...

....and she flows into the infinity...

One of ten weapons of Durga have come to the shore and got stuck in the muds. Nostalgic moment, it marks the end of another year of festivals.

After the immersion, there is suddenly a blank feeling for sometime...

But life moves on, one of the member of the family is collecting the river water (which is consider holy by all the households) in the puja ghat and getting ready to be back.

The ladies of the house are also getting ready to go back to their respective places. They are all red with exchange of sindur during sindur khela. Bijoyadashami brings in lots of harmony among the bengalis. While the married ladies play with sindur and bond into more friendliness, the guys embrace each other (bengali term is called kolakuli) and exchange best wishes for them and their families.

This is a very common scene. During the immersion ceremony kids always have their eyes on the symbolic weapons of Durga, Saraswati, Laxmi, Karthik and Ganesh. They always try to collect at least of the many symbolic weapons of this gods / goddesses and proudly keep it in the place of worship in the house. Here is one such kid who have found success in getting one this year.

After the immersion everybody has returned home and the taki ghat is looking empty.

But the wait was not long, Another club has arrived to start their immersion ceremony (bisharjan jatra).

The idols getting arranged one by one...

Because Durga and her kids come once every year only for seven days, everyone feels very sad to bid them good bye. However eventually the good bye is always done with a smile and all the ladies in the locality greet Durga and her kids, seek their blessings and do some mishtimukh (feeding them sweets). Here you can notice the marks of those sweets as Laxmi and Saraswati are getting ready to depart.

Lots of people extending their helping hands to life Durga from the pandal and to bring them along the banks of the river.

The final dip...

The last look before she vanishes into eternity...