Durgotsav is the festival when goddess Durga is worshipped. But for people in Kolkata, this is an extravaganza, it's much more than just a festival; it means family reunion, new dresses adda, bhog, food, an exhibition of finest craftsman, which can be appreciated and cherished by pandal hopping.

There are more than 2000 sarbojonin pujas organized in Kolkata and around 500 big (renown) sarbojonin organizers.

It takes months of planning, hard work from the artisan and designer to create something exclusive and beautiful. Each pandal create their mandap based on a theme, trying to convey some social messages through their mandap like to avoid plastic, unity among people, environmental issues

The focus is not only given on the mandaps/pandals (Marquee) but also on the idol of the mother goddess which is skillfully crafted by the artisans.

Each organizer creates their idol based on their theme.

After months of hard work, the pandal is inaugurated by some celebrities and is then opened to the public on the day of Chaturthi(4th day). However, nowadays renowned pandals get inaugurated on the day of Trivia(3rd day).

With the inauguration, the crowds started pouring in the pandals. The number increases with increase in the days. As they say, crowd is directly proportional to the days

One can not only find queue in pandal but also at restaurants and this queue increases every day till Dashami.

The menu of the restaurants gets shortened during this festive period of 7 days. Dishes that take more time to prepare or unpopular dishes are generally removed from the menu. So if any one is planning for lunch or dinner during the festival, it's better to reserve(may not be available at all restaurant during this period) your seat earlier or prepare to wait for long hours. I being an impatient guy always end up eating fast food like sandwich, burger, momos.

The menu of the restaurants gets shortened during this festive period of 7 days. Dishes that take more time to prepare or unpopular dishes are generally removed from the menu. So if any one is planning for lunch or dinner during the festival, it's better to reserve(may not be available at all restaurant during this period) your seat earlier or prepare to wait for long hours. I being an impatient guy always end up eating fast food like sandwich, burger, momos.

The prices of Ola and Uber really fluctuates and most of the time its quite high. we ended up paying 900 which was supposed to be Rs 350 normally. I don't know much about the Ola rental pricing during Puja but one of my friends did book an Ola and quite intelligently he did it at around 3:00 am for 6 hrs I think for which he didn't miss the lighting but he was fortunate enough to miss the crowd.

Now coming to the transport; if you are planning to go around the city to witness some pandal during Puja there are many public transports available in the city buses, trains, metros, taxis(yellow taxi, AC taxis, Ola, Uber etc…) and most of the transport agency (travel agency) who rent their cab along with their driver.

With the sound of Dhakis drum, the Puja formally starts from Sasthi (Bodhon).Most people choose to go out from Saptami evening as most of the office get shut on Saptami. So more crowd can be expected in pandals and metro also switch their service hours; instead of operating in morning hours they start from 2:00 pm and continue their service till 4:00 AM.

Due to a heavy crowd, it's also very difficult to find parking so one can expect to walk a long distance to see a pandal. Many roads get blocked. Last year i.e. 2017 Deshapriya Park did that amazing Durga idol in 2015 and a very good marketing campaign for which the whole crowd was rushing there so as a result Rash Behari Avenue was choked.



Mahastami(8th day) means Anjali and Bhog.(mostly khichuri) and more pandal hopping. One can see wonderful Dahanuchi dance performed on Dhak's tune by the people at puja pandals.

The crowd numbers keep on increasing till Nabami (Mahanabami).



New Alipore Durga Puja *Children's Park One of the few things that people hate during Puja is the rain. Well as you can see in the photo that it's raining. But still, you can find the pandals crowded.



Earlier few organizer used to give awards to the pandals now almost every pandal win some awards and I guess they all deserve it for their hard work and dedication.





64 Pally And with sweet full in her mouth, the mother goddess and her family bid us goodbye and we bid her goodbye with a wait for 1 year.So with around 75 days left Bengalis have once again started getting excited about Puja.





I have excluded Durga Puja rituals as I don't have much sound knowledge on it. So to summarize about Durga Puja in Kolkata I would say its every thing of Bengal; the rituals, the fun, the art, the eating. etc.



Despite just mentioning about Kolkata I would say not only all of Bengal but every Bengalis around the world celebrate with lots of enthusiasm be its India or Outside India.



Few days of fun and Bengalis eagerly wait for this festival since the year's beginning. I don't know much about other festivals but Kolkata during Durga Puja has to be best.



List and Routes of Some Top Durga Puja Pandals in Kolkata Being a public transport user I would like to mention the Pujas along with the public route.

Let's start with Extreme South Route 1: The Extreme South Kendua Shanti Sangha Naba Durga

Baishnabghata Patuli Upanagari

Baishnabghata Patuli Upanagri Sporting

Kendua Shanti Sangha

Jatra Suru Sangha

4 No Milani

Naktala Samilani

Naktala Udayan Sangha

Raipur Club Naba Durga (Garia Mitali Sangha) and move to Baishnabghata Patuli.



After Baishnabhghata Patuli Upanagri, turn your route away from EM Bypass and move towards Raja Subodh Chandra Mallick Road. On your way to Subodh Mallick road you can get to Baishnabghata Patuli Upanagri Sporting for which you have to take the right road from Dakshini/ Upanagri bus stop. Mahastami(8th day) means Anjali and Bhog.(mostly khichuri) and more pandal hopping. One can see wonderful Dahanuchi dance performed on Dhak's tune by the people at puja pandals.The crowd numbers keep on increasing till Nabami (Mahanabami).One of the few things that people hate during Puja is the rain. Well as you can see in the photo that it's raining. But still, you can find the pandals crowded.Earlier few organizer used to give awards to the pandals now almost every pandal win some awards and I guess they all deserve it for their hard work and dedication.And with sweet full in her mouth, the mother goddess and her family bid us goodbye and we bid her goodbye with a wait for 1 year.So with around 75 days left Bengalis have once again started getting excited about Puja.I have excluded Durga Puja rituals as I don't have much sound knowledge on it. So to summarize about Durga Puja in Kolkata I would say its every thing of Bengal; the rituals, the fun, the art, the eating. etc.Despite just mentioning about Kolkata I would say not only all of Bengal but every Bengalis around the world celebrate with lots of enthusiasm be its India or Outside India.Few days of fun and Bengalis eagerly wait for this festival since the year's beginning. I don't know much about other festivals but Kolkata during Durga Puja has to be best.If you get down at Kavi Nazrul Metro (Briji area) then he can follow the above route, which covers a total of around 4km. You can take rickshaw after(Garia Mitali Sangha) and move toAfter, turn your route away from EM Bypass and move towards Raja Subodh Chandra Mallick Road. On your way to Subodh Mallick road you can get toforwhich you have to take the right road from Dakshini/ Upanagri bus stop.





After seeing the Puja return back to main road then keep walking towards Raja Subodh Mallick roadd, after few minutes of walk you will reach Kendua Shanti Sangha, then keep walking towareds the crossing you will find Jatra Suru Sangha.





Then you can take a cycle rickshaw and reach directly to Naktala Udayan Sangha near it, you can also find Naktala Samilani or Raipur Club. There are options to take autos and buses also, for that you have to walk to Garia More and take bus to reach Naktala Puja Pandal. The only thing that I have heard is some Puja Pandal on this routes are inconsistent, I mean some years they create great pandal and some year they don't. Then you can take a metro from Masterda Surya Sen which is just 1 km away from the pandal.



Route: Kavi Nazrul >> Masterda Surya Sen



Route 2 The Southern One Santoshpur Lake Pally Santoshpur Trikon Park

Santoshpur Avenue

Santoshpore Lake Pally

Selimpur Palli

Jodhpur Park

95 Pally

Pally Mangal

Babubagan Club

It is one of the most convenient route, specially if you are using a public transport. Get down at Jadavpur Station walk to Santoshpur Trikon Park which is just 500m away from the station. Route: Kavi Nazrul >> Masterda Surya SenIt is one of the most convenient route, specially if you are using a public transport. Get down at Jadavpur Station walk towhich is just 500m away from the station.





Then in the same locality, you will find the other two pujas Santoshpur Avenue and Santoshpore Lake Pally. After seeing these Pujas you can get with plan A or B





PLAN A

Now you can head back to Jadavpur station or take a cycle rickshaw, Jadavpur station is around 1.3 km from Lake Pally. Then get down at Dhakuria Station. Babubagan is the nearest pandal from Dhakuria station. Then walk to Selimpur Palli.



After seeing these two cross the road and walk to Jodhpur Park. Then you can go to Pally Mangal and walk to 95 Palli. then you can head back to Dhakuria station or Lake Garden (nearest). If you choose to return via Lake Garden you can also visit Lake Garden's People Association. This route covers roughly about 6.5 km.





PLAN B









Route: Jadavpur Station >> Lake Garden/Dhakuria



Route 3 The Popular One Tridhara Samilani Ballygunge Purbapally

Ekdalia Evergreen

Falguni Sangha

Singhi Park

Hindustan Club

Hindustan Park

Triangular Park

Samaj Sebi

Ballygunge Cultural Association

Tridhara Samilani

Deshapriya Park

64 Pally

Badamtala Ashar Sangha

66 Pally

This is perhaps the best Puja route to visit by using train/metro. Get down at Ballygunge station and wal to Kalighat Metro. After seeing the three pujas of Santoshpur, take an auto and get down at Sulekha More. There you can see Shyamapally Shyama Sangha. From there you can get bus or auto to reach Jadavput Thana. Then turn right and visit Pally Mangal, then walk to Jodhpur Park and 95 Pally. After seeing these Pujas, head towards Dhakuria to see Selimpur Pally, Babubagan.Route: Jadavpur Station >> Lake Garden/DhakuriaThis is perhaps the best Puja route to visit by using train/metro. Get down at Ballygunge station and wal to Kalighat Metro.





Get down at Ballygunge station and walk towards Gariahat at the end of the flyover take the Ekdalia Road to reach Ekdalia Evergreen Puja. It's a 10 min walk from the station.





After seeing Ekdalia. Cross the road to reach Singhi Park. Then take then walk towards Rash Behari, On your right you will see Hindusthan Road take that road to reach Hindustan Club.





Then cross Rash Behari Ave. and take the first road to Hindustan Park. Then walk to Samaj Sebi and taking the Lake view road walk back towards Rash Behari to reach Ballygunge Cultural. Cross Rash Behari to reach Tridhara and near Tridhara is Deshapriya Park. From Deshapriya Park you can walk to 64 Pally, by taking Bipin Pal Road, but its a bit off route.



Then you can walk to Kalighat metro or take bus or auto rickshaw. After reaching Kalighat metro if you continue to walk on Rash Behari Avenue he or she will find Sadanada Road Crossing on entering the road and be taking the first left one can reach Badamtala Ashar Sangha and on the same road, one can find 66 Palli and walking further will take you to Nepal Bhattacharya Street.





There is also a narrow lane that takes you to the market, you can see a stair to fly over you can get on the fly over and walk for few minutes to reach Chetla Agrani Club.



