Durga Puja – Page 7 – All India Trinamool Congress

Top Pujas of Kolkata in 2015 – Mahasaptami

Posted on October 20, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Mahasaptami, or simply Saptami, is usually considered the first day of Durga Puja. Pran Prathistha, Kolabou Snan and Bodhan are the most important rituals performed on this day.

During dawn, just as the first light of the sun descends on earth, Kolabou Snan, or bathing of the Kolabou (which is a banana stem wrapped in a sari, signifying Lord Ganesha’s wife), and related rituals are performed. Through these, Pran Prathistha, or breathing of life into the idol of Goddess Durga, is accomplished. The idea is to symbolically symbolically transfer life from water to the banana tree, and through it, to Goddess Durga. The ritual is performed on the banks of a river or a pond.

The Kolabou ritual is an elaborate one. The Kolabou is brought back in a procession and it is placed near Ganesha inside the pandal.

Let’s take a look at the some of the most talked about Barowari Pujas of Kolkata:

BOSEPUKUR SITALAMANDIR

WHERE: Bosepukur

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: Fight between good and evil. The pandal is made of earthen tea cups (bhars).

BOSEPUKUR TALBAGAN

WHERE: Talbagan, Kasba

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: The theme is ‘Narishakti’. There is a handicraft screen of ‘Banganari’, depicting the women of Bengal, who, with their determination, courage, endurance and perseverance, have changed the face of women of Bengal. There is also a 3D projection mapping show, paying tribute to famous women of Bengal.

DESHAPRIYA PARK

WHERE: Deshapriya Park

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: World’s tallest Durga idol, made of fibre glass.

EKDALIA EVERGREEN

WHERE: Gariahat

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: It is a traditional puja. There is no theme as such.

TRIDHARA SAMMILANI

WHERE: Lake View Road, Deshapriya Park

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: Rajasthani doll art

KASHI BOSE LANE

WHERE: Off Bidhan Sarani, opposite Star Theatre

NEAREST METRO: Sovabazar/ Girish Park

THEME: The theme is ‘Meyaebela’, Unusually, the puja begins on the day of protipod.

Top Pujas of Kolkata in 2015 – Maha Panchami & Shasthi

Posted on October 18, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Mahasasthi, the sixth day from the day of the new moon or Mahalaya, is the day on which the Durga Puja rituals actually begin. It is believed that on this day Goddess Durga arrives in the mortal world from her heavenly abode, accompanied by her children, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh (seen beside Goddess Durga in the pandals).

Devi Bodhon or the unveiling of the goddess happens on the eve of Mahasasthi. It is also on this day that she is adorned with the various armaments which she had used to defeat Mahishasura. She is welcomed with much fanfare amidst the beats of dhak. The ritual of Kalaparambho precedes Bodhon, Aamontron and Adhibash.

Let’s take a look at the some the most talked about Barowari Pujas of Kolkata:

CHETLA AGRANI CLUB

WHERE: Near Chetla Bridge, Desher Khabar

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat

THEME: ‘Joy of creation’. Pandal made of drums and masks. In the middle of the pandal hangs a chandelier made of more than 100 spoons. Idol by Sanatan Dinda.

BEHALA NATUN DAL

WHERE: 14 no. bus stand, Behala

NEAREST METRO: Kalighat/ Rabindra Sarobar

THEME: The mythological churning of the ocean, fight between good and evil. Idol by Bhabatosh Sutar.

SURUCHI SANGHA

WHERE: New Alipore

NEAREST METRO: Rabindra Sarovar/ Kalighat

THEME: The theme is Maa-Mother-Ammi, signifying universal brotherhood.

NAKTALA UDAYAN SANGHA

WHERE: Naktala

NEAREST METRO: Naktala

THEME: World’s biggest flower

SANTOSHPUR LAKE PALLY

WHERE: Santoshpur

NEAREST METRO: Tollygunge

THEME: Folk art of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand

JODHPUR PARK 95 PALLY

WHERE: Jodhpur Park

NEAREST METRO: Rabindra Sarovar

THEME: Folk art and dolls from various parts of Bengal, for a traditional ambience. The pandal will be made of clay. Idol by Sanatan Dinda.

Fire safety – Govt ensures a safe Durga Puja

Posted on October 18, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Elaborate measures have been taken by the Fire Services Department to prevent mishaps in the city during the festive days of Durga Puja.

The Fire and Emergency Services Department has urged the puja organisers to follow fire prevention norms to ensure a safe puja. The Fire and Emergency Services Department would keep a tight vigil to ensure adequate fire safety measures in pandals.

There would be no partiality in maintaining vigilance. So there is no question of being soft on the big pujas or harsh on smaller pujas. The message is to ensure a safe puja.

The guidelines include fire retardant solutions on materials used in pandal decoration, use of authorized ISI marked cables and wires, adequate distance between metre box and puja pandal, fire alarm system, CCTV, small fire tending machines installed at various places and adequate supply of water.

There are 1780 puja committees under their ambit. Like every year, the Fire and Emergency Services Department give the best puja awards to those committees who would follow the fire safety norms and indulge in best practices.

There will be around 13 fire outposts and call centres to manage the city and prevent untoward incidents. The puja committees have been asked to train volunteers in handling emergency situations and deploy them inside and outside the pandals. Medical services and toilet facilities for ladies are some of the other criteria to be fulfilled.

Mamata Banerjee inaugurates several Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata

Posted on October 18, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee travelled far and wide, mapping the length and breadth of Kolkata, inaugurating Durga Puja pandals across the City of Joy.

Soaking herself in the festive spirit, she travelled from the eastern fringes to the southern corners, covering Baghbazar to Santoshpur, Kasba to New Alipore. Everywhere she went, she mingled with the crowd, greeted everyone and chanted the Durgastotram.

The Bengal Chief Minister, who is also a painter, began her inaugurations at Chetla Agrani Club on the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya.

The Chief Minister has also designed the cover of the Puja edition of the party mouthpiece Jago Bangla.

Kolkata Police gears up for a smooth traffic management during the Durga Pujas

Posted on October 18, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Crowd and traffic control during Durga Puja in the added areas of Kolkata – where there’s been a phenomenal rise in number of mega-budget pujas – is turning into a bigger challenge every year for Kolkata Police.

Deployment of forces

As many as 4,000 personnel will be posted across the city along with home guards. Traffic will be barred on many roads from 3 PM to 1 AM on Panchami and up to 3 AM till Navami. Kolkata Police has also drawn up specific traffic regulations on 133 streets.

A few hundred constables and over 450 trainee traffic sergeants will be the additional forces on the road on all Puja days. Most of the divisions and the traffic wing have increased their staff strength. This extra force will be deployed in the added areas where road space is restricted. In addition, help will be taken of the numerous of CCTV cameras to cover all the major crossings of the added areas. Based on real time inputs, necessary deployments will be made.

Newly-added areas under Kolkata Police

The added areas spread over 104 sq km and include 13 police stations. Unlike other years, this time the full police bandobast will begin on Panchami itself.

There are at least 28 big pujas in this new area and over 1,000 medium-scale pujas. Additional manpower has been sought from the state police but top officers have been asked to prepare their plan with existing resources.

Other arrangements

NCC cadets, scouts, students and several NGOs will be used for managing crowds at pandals, said sources. Like last year,information regarding traffic, the situation at pandals and those lost in crowd will be transmitted on the AIR FM channel.

The Government has put a restriction on immersion of Durga Idols in Kolkata on 23 and 24 October as the dates clash with Muharram.

Going by the almanac, this year Vijay Dashami falls on 23 October when, after offering a three-day puja, the Idols of goddess Durga are traditionally immersed into river. But over the years, many community puja organisers have developed the tendency to perform the ritual even a day or two after Vijay Dashami.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who held a meeting with various Durga Puja committee heads and religious leaders at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, made the announcement on restriction on immersion of Durga Idols in the city.

She announced that for household Durga Puja in Kolkata, the immersion of Idols will be on 22 October after the Maha Navami puja is over.

There will be no immersion on 23 and 24 October as Muharram, which is observed by a large section Muslim population in the city, falls on those dates. Allowing the immersion on those two days might lead to traffic congestion and law and order situation.

The immersion of Idols of all community Durga Puja in Kolkata will be from 12 noon on wards on 25 October. The immersion will continue the next day, that is, on 26 October, from 8 am to 2 pm as the Laxmi Puja falls on that day.

KMC and Kolkata Police gear up for Durga Puja immersions

Posted on October 17, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Elaborate security arrangements by Kolkata police as well as civic authorities are in place at various ghats of the river Hooghly to ensure that the immersion of Durga idols passes off peacefully.

Officers of the Kolkata Police are manning the riverfront to prevent onlookers from getting too close to the river. Special vigil is being maintained from a watch tower near the ghat.

Cranes have been deployed at certain ghats to lift and extricate the remains of idols from the river to avoid pollution.

Additional lights have been put up at the immersion ghats and the flowers, levers and metallic weapons are being dumped in separate vats to avoid polluting the river.

Other than maintaining law and order during immersion, the teams of river police and disaster management groups patrolling the Hooghly river. Closed-circuit television cameras have been installed at certain ghats.

Biswa Bangla Sharod Samman by WB Govt adds colours the Pujas

Posted on October 17, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

On the occasion of Durga Puja, the Government of West Bengal has come up with a unique initiative – Biswa Bangla Sharod Samman. This is the second year. This initiative aims to nominate and reward the best Pujas.

Biswa Bangla Sharod Samman will hold in its purview not only the pujas of Kolkata and Bengal but also of other Indian cities and foreign countries where Bengalis celebrate the autumn fest with equal mirth and enthusiasm.

Last year, the foreign entries included those from New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, Singapore, Sydney and Bahrain. Four entries from London, three from Singapore and two from Dhaka were added the competition n the foreign section.

Last year, the pan-India entries included those from Nabi Mumbai Bengali Association, Srinibaspuri Puja Committee from New Delhi, Maruti Vihar Puja Committee from Kalapakkam, Rabindra Palli Puja Committee from Faizabad in Lucknow, Chhatrabondhu Club from Agartala and from other states.

The awards for pujas in Kolkata and the districts will be declared on Saptami.

Categories for Kolkata:

Sherar Shera

Shera Protima

Shera Mondop

Shera Bhabna

Shera Alok Shojja

Shera Poribesh Bandhab

Shera Abishkar

Shera Aboho

Shera Shilpi

Shera Dhakeshari

Shera Biswa Bangla Branding

Kolkata includes Kolkata Municipal Corporation areas, South Dum Dum Municipality, Baranagore Municipality, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.

Categories for Rest of Bengal (for 19 districts):

Shera Pujo

Shera Protima

Shera Mondop

Rest of India : Best Pujas across India will be awarded

Rest of World : Best Pujas across the world will be awarded

WB CM appeals for communal harmony during Durga Puja

Posted on October 16, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee appealed for maintaining communal harmony on Thursday. She was speaking during the inauguration of a Durga Puja Mandap at Ballygunge Cultural Association.

The Chief Minister has been inaugurating several Durga Puja pandals since Mahalaya. On Thursday she posted a Facebook posted with pictures of the inauguration.

She also appealed to Puja organisers seeking their cooperation in maintaining law and order. She said Maa Durga belongs to all.

Didi went to several mandaps in south Kolkata on Thursday; people turned up in large numbers to have a glimpse of Didi along with Maa Durga.

Proud that I belong to Potuapara: WB CM at Kumortuli

Posted on October 15, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was proud that she lived near Kalighat Potuapara while inaugurating the Kumortuli Sarbojonin Durgotsav at Kumortuli in north Kolkata.

The two main areas where Durga idols are created are Kumortuli in North Kolkta and Kalighat Potuapara. Each of these two areas has hundreds of studios, all dedicated to creating clay idols of Gods and Goddesses.

The West Bengal Chief Minister, in the same evening, inaugurated puja pandals at Bhowanipore 95 Pally and Ajey Sanhati and 41 Pally in Haridebpur.

The West Bengal Chief Minister wished all a happy Puja and urged all to maintain communal harmony.

Didi pens theme song for Durga Puja

Posted on October 14, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Mamata Banerjee has penned the theme song for the Durga Puja 2015 organized by Suruchi Sangha.

In spite of working more than 18 hours a day, taking tremendous pressure and meeting almost anybody and everybody who come to her doorsteps, the West Bengal Chief Minister somehow keeps her cultural desires proactive through painting, writing books and poems.

Her poems have earlier been stringed to produce popular songs like ‘Mati’, but this is the first time her song has been tuned to be used as a theme song for a Durga Puja.

The music for the song was composed by Jeet Ganguly and sung by Shreya Ghoshal.

The lyrics of the song is as follows:

Mago tumi sarbojanin acho hridoy jure

Maa, ammi, mother eki bhule ta ki kore

Maa go tumi shorbojonin acho hridoy jure

Ghore je maa mondireteo

Dekhi mora shei maayeri mukh

Maa devi te farak kothay

Shob maa t je eki devir roop

Tribhuboneo acho maa go

Acho maatir ghore

Maa, ammi, mother eki bhule ta ki kore

Ma go tumi sarbojanin acho hridoy jure

Jonmodayini maa tumi

Aagley rakho duhaate shontane

Jogot-dhatri maa go tumi

Aagley rakho temonei vubone

Hridoy maajhe tai to badha

Dui maa e ek shure

Maa, ammi, mother eki bhule ta ki kore

Maa go tumi shorbojonin acho hridoy jure