Sorry folks, I couldn’t do the write up for Puja parikrama
for these past two days, because I was too exhausted. We went out in the morning and then came
back in the evening and went straight to sleep. Hadn’t had any energy left to write about anything.
Anyway, on the last day, I am going to be recounting where all we went out for
the Nabami tour.
We chose extreme south this time for our Nabami tour. I hadn’t
visited this part of the city for a long long time and it was a trip well worth
it.
Lake Kalibari
So, we started by taking an Uber to Lake Kalibari. As luck
would have it, we reached right at the time of Nabami Anjali and it was pouring
rain over there. While we waited for the rain to subside we went into the
temple and saw the newly built Saraswasti Temple in there. Saraswati is resplendent
here in absolute white. Here’s a picture.
Ballygunge Cultural Association
Its a short walk from Lake Kalibari and the whole theme has a very warm feeling to it.
Its a short walk from Lake Kalibari and the whole theme has a very warm feeling to it.
Tridhara Sammilani
Club
This was a stunning depiction of a tribal village with its
main occupation being hunting. The oversized buffalo heads, skins, tree houses,
tribal masks, the effect was stunning. Maa has the look of a tribal goddess. I wanted
to hang around a little bit more and gawk at it but the rains spoiled the plan
and so I couldn’t get you a decent enough pic of the idol. Still, hope these
few shots help.
Deshopriya Park
This year they came up with Maa’s 1000 hands. The entire
pandal is one giant head of Mahishasur. As you can see from the pic below, Maa
with her 1000 hands is a difficult feat to be worshiped, so they had installed
a small chamber underneath the main idol and a beautiful Durga idol of sanatani
look was actually the one being worshiped. Unfortunately, the poor lighting
and the crowd didn’t let me take a satisfying picture of her, but hope this one
helps.
Chetla Agrani Club
This club is always a big crowd puller and they haven’t disappointed
this year too. The theme is one of artistry one with golden bamboos and stuff which
I didn’t really get, but the effect was beautiful. By the way, did you know that
the club has their own theme song? Yeah, they kept playing it over and over
again. Well, still have a long way to go.
66 Palli
Honestly, I have never been in this part of the city before
for pandal hopping and the trip was totally worth it. Basically, what 66 Palli
did was, they took a ginormous painting of the old Kolkata and made 3D
projection out of it. For those who grew up in the old parts of the city like me, the
background music of Akashvani, and the old lamp posts and post offices, with
hand pulled rickshaws, it was a huge attraction. We reveled in the glimpses of
the city of our childhood.
Yes, this is made entirely of paper and cardboard. Amazing, isn’t it?
We loitered around for quite a long time here, mercifully the
rain had stopped by then.
Badamtala Ashar
Sangha
They took the Zodiac signs and brick chips and Maa surrounded
by the 12 signs and the effect was a very terracotta style building. Even the
hangings were made of brick chips, Maa really is Mrinmayee here. I took a long
time posing in front of my Zodiac, but the others were equally beautifully
made.
Shib Mandir
Shib Mandir came up with the theme of a pandal made of everyday
household article of wood and created an absolutely stunning Choukhupi. The pandal
is made entirely of wood and ply. The doors could easily have been the Singha
Darja of a Zamindar Bari. I can’t say enough about this creation. To get the full effect of the clever
lighting and Mrinmayee murti with its look of polished wood is just something
one has to be there. The multiple awards are totally justified.
They put these things on the ceiling.
Lake Youth Corner
Nestled in an abandoned Buddhist Monastery, Maa is
completely golden. An unexpected gift, we arrived just as the Navami Puja was going
on.
Mudiali Club
From outside, the Sun Chariot was not inspiring and to tell
the truth I was a little disappointed. But once inside, Mudiali once again
showed its mettle. The pandal is Rajasthani styled, the peacocks, the lanterns.
And Maa herself is dressed as a Rajasthani princess with her face so serene and
sweet. It was beautiful. The colors, the lighting, everything.
Okay, the pics totally suck, I had completely forgotten to put my camera in HDR mode, silly me. :(
Suruchi Sangha
Our last stop was Suruchi Sangha in New Alipore and man! The
hype was totally justified. The pandal is inspired by the architecture of a
Monastery somewhere in Bhutan. With its fluttering prayer flags in tall
flagpoles, the turning prayer wheels, the 3 headed dragons, the very life like
goblins and the huge statue of Buddha seated amongst lotuses are so like the original, it will inspire you to visit Bhutan, which, by the way, is a
beautiful country I hear. This is a must see. Especially the paintwork, the use
of blue was mesmerising!
And thankfully, by this time, I had gathered enough sense and had put my camera's my Super Resolution on. Let's see how the snaps came out.
This one's my favorite!!
That was it for Nabami. I night go out today again to cover
the rest of the city.
As always, I hope I could help you get a glimpse of your
city at it best.
