Kolkata Pandal Hopping - Pujas Part 2

Kolkata Puja Pandal Themes - Picture file

Desapriya Park Pandal - Hazaar Haath or Thousand Hands

 Demon head in Desapriya Park

A depiction of the Deity with 1000 hands capable of killing 1000 demons

The actual deity in the cave

Shibmandir Sarbajanin Pandal - Choukhupi, or Frame

This pandal in Kalighat was made entirely in wood decorated with everyday household items

The deity

The theme of the pandal was `Choukhupi' or frame. Everything you live with within the four corners of your house. This was the ceiling.

The walls

Carrom Boards on the ceiling

Notice the spoons, spatulas, doors, bowls, plates, cupboards, letterboxes

Chetla Agrani Club Pandal - The Art of Meditation

This pandal in Chetla was made of three types of Assamese bamboo

The bamboo buddha 

The deity's depiction is that of a meditating sage

Samaj Sebi Pandal - Story of Woman Empowerment

This pandal on Lakeview Road showed the roles of women from housewives to farmers to professionals in every sphere of life.

Beautifully artwork on the walls

The deity

Women's achievement in sport

The ills of alcoholism and domestic violence

Professionals

66 Pally Pandal - Bengali blockbuster film 'Praktan'

The pandal in Kalighat was fashioned after the Bengali film Praktan starring Tollywood actors Prasenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta

Beautifully crafted set

The deity

Bosepukur Sitala Mandir Pandal - A Bengali Wedding

The theme of the pandal was a bengali marriage. It was one of the most interesting ones to me. 

Offerings to the Gods

The arches were covered with red and white bangles called 'shaka paula' made from shells and red coral worn by brides for good health and prosperity. 

The colourful clay vessels or 'mangal ghats' are filled with mango leaves and a coconut on top and placed in four corners of the house to ward off spirits and attract good fortune.

The copper vessels are the equivalent of the clay mangal ghats and are kept at the entrance of the bride's house. The walls were covered in grains of rice. 

The gold extensions on the peacock are fish, an integral part of a bengali wedding. The conch shell is an integral part of the wedding and is blown to ward off evil. 

The ceiling

The petals of the flowers are made with miniature versions of cane trays that are used to sort impurities from rice before cooking and the rounded gold metal extensions contain kohl to put on the eyes. 

The side walls show married couples in different poses 

Close up

The deity

Hindustan Park Pandal - Granny's Tales

This pandal in Hindustan Park depicts the joys of children sitting with their grandmother and listening to her tales. Note the spectacles. She would be peeling and cutting betel nuts and putting them in the pot while regaling the children. The entrance had this huge winged pegasus made with betel nut shaped clay. 

Lining on the walls surrounding the pegasus

Characters of the tales 

On the trees are round frames used in needlework

The deity was placed on a chariot. People had to climb a ladder to give their offerings.

Jodhpur Park Pandal - Ox Cart, Village Life

Pop Art Oxen

Colourful pots hanging from the ceiling

The deity

From the other side

Cute and colourful

I hope you have enjoyed seeing these pandals through my eyes as much as I had visiting them. The range of artistic talent in the eastern state of West Bengal is just staggering and there's no better time to showcase that than during the Pujas. The themes are so varied and inclusive of different cultures, religions and communities. They also include social values, causes and everyday life. I hope you get to visit and experience the madness and wonder of Kolkata during the Pujas at least once. For those being introduced to this topic for the first time on my blog you can go to my earlier post for a detailed writeup about the festival.