Top Puja Mandap Themes (2015) of North Kolkata

We are into the second week of October and once more we are inching closer towards the Durga Puja. Metropolitan city Kolkata is in a buzz now as it is getting ready for the ceremony. People are busy with the last minute preparations be it shopping or coming back home to spend time together in this festive season. Durga Puja has its own flair beginning from the pandal hopping, waking nights, dining out in restaurants or having fun times with family, gossipping, etc. We visit from one pandal to another, watch the lighting and decorations, but the beauty of some of these remain afresh in our mind for long and become the topic of our discussion for a few days.

Adding to the spirit of the occasion, we are now going to discuss and disclose the top Durga Puja pandal themes of North Kolkata. Let’s check out what these Puja Mandaps have in store for us in this festive season.

Ahiritola lends a new dimension to the modern North Kolkata Durgoutsab by relying once again on heritage. It rules the roost ever since 76 years as far as heritage is concerned. This time the full mandap is decorated with flowers. The fine artwork with flowers of different colours lends a vibrant and attractive appearance to the mandap. This year puja theme is “Pushargho” which means praying the goddess with flowers.

It has silently stepped into the 83rd year and this year their theme is “Abahon Bunorey, Monorey” which means inviting the goddess Durga from the heaven to earth. Paper is knitted into doll, Lord Shiva and goddess Durga. The various names of the goddess are written all over the mandap. The mandap is designed with paper, beads, mud, bamboos, etc.

Beginning its Puja journey in the pre-independence era, it has entered into 71st year in 2015. This year the theme is “Lokonoye.” If we break the word, then Lok means people and noye means new. The decoration is based at the backdrop of folk arts. The folk arts of the different states of India like Rajasthan, Odisha together with countries like Africa is the main attraction here. Various folk songs are the other spectacular attraction as well.

It remarkably enters 78th year, this year and its theme is “kanyasantan” which in English means girl child or daughter. Various statues of girl child is made with rubber, wax, iron, etc., on the flowers resembling each girl child as a flower.

It’s celebrating the 81st year of puja in 2015. It has the unique and ancient art of “Origami” as its theme. The idol as well as the mandap is decorated with the origami art. The jewellery and the clothes of the deity is made of paper.

This popular puja is entering 23rd year of its celebration. It’s theme is “Theme 9 Manobta” which means humanity. This means it is giving more stress to humanity rather than any theme. It showcases the effort of the Indian Air Force in the rehabilitation of Nepal together with the warm welcome of the goddess. The main entrance has the face of a monster that somewhat symbolises an earthquake.

It is entering its 97th year of the celebration and being here means turning over the pages of History one after the other. Beginning from the decoration, art and lighting it’s one of the top attraction among the mandaps in the North Kolkata. The mandap resembles a church in Paris. Together with puja celebration a lot of other interesting activities take place here like wrestling, bamboo play, etc.

The collection coconut shells began eight months before the puja event. With these more than two lakhs of coconut shells and by the application of advanced technology the whole decoration is made. This in turn emphasises the fact that best could be made out of wastes.