More on the festivals

September - October - November - now this is the festival time.

First there is Durga Puja and then there is Diwali.


I had a fantastic Diwali and what did I do that day - nothing.


Went out, had dinner and saw a movie.


On the way back, I did a few places in Salt Lake celebrating Kali Puja. Here is a picture of one of them. The pandal was designed as a temple and here is a picture of that also.























This was Diwali/ Kali Puja. A very quiet one, compared to what goes on in Delhi - lights and sounds. Delhi is very well lit and its very noisy with fire-crackers going off everywhere.

This was a different experience.

Yesterday (30th October) I went to Kumartuli. And then I realized it was Jagadhatri Puja time.

Jagadhatri Puja is a 'Chandernagore' Puja - while Kolkata will have a 1-2 days Jagadhatri Puja, Chandernagore has a 4 day Puja.

It is told that the King of KrishnaNagar wanted to perform Durga Puja but was not able to , so requested the priests to look for an alternate date. The priests then suggested an alternate date and an alternate deity also.

So it came to pass.

KrishnaNagar and ChanderNagore are the two places where this puja is held in full swing.

In Kumartuli, which is bustling during Durga Puja time was quiet.

Here are a few pictures of the making of the idols -