Kolkata pandal-hopping on maha-sasthi

Durga puja is like new year to us. We, the bongo-sontans*, plan everything for these five days. There is absolutely no comparison between Durga puja in Kolkata and anywhere else in the world. After 12 years finally I had the chance to do pandal-hopping on maha-sasthi day of Durga Puja. I got down at Kalighat by metro and started walking. It was a really awesome experience after so many years. It took me about five hours to cover my area of interest and finally ended up at Jadavpur thana. The entire walk made me so nostalgic. Weather was not so bad, little humid though. Mudiali, Seba sangha, Gorchha, Madox Square, Hindustan Park, Ballygunge cultural, Tridhara, Ekdalia, Singhi park, 95 Palli, Jodhpur park, Babubagan, Selimpur and others were among those. Theme based puja now a days is very popular. Decoration was gorgeous. I also tried to take a peek at the tallest Durga in Deshpriya park, but due to huge crowd the police closed it for public viewing. Smell of the street foods, road side merchandize stalls, sounds of dhaak, exciting faces of teenagers - everything was just so Kolkata-ish :) It was an one-of-a-kind experience that took me 12 years back in time, reminding me of those college days in Kolkata - our ever-special kollolini tilottoma.

*bongo-sontans = bengali-kids

Here is the map:

Here is the album: Flickr Album