I wrote the first Durga Pujo post on the first day of the celebration, and so I thought I'd post this on the last day.
I have never seen Durga Pujo celebrated in Kolkata, India, where I'm from. But from what I've heard, it's magical. The entire city gets involved; it unites to celebrate together, as one. The city is covered in lights and decorations. Each year new pandals (shrines) are created to celebrate the festival. They start preparing months before the holiday, and have competitions to see which neighborhood can create the most beautiful and creative Goddess and shrine. The city never sleeps, with people celebrating throughout the streets day and night. Durga Pujo is a time when everyone is equal, everyone is happy and united together. For 10 days, Kolkata is transformed into a festival, to celebrate happiness, family, culture, and goodness.
Here are more pictures of the celebration. The first 3 are of celebrations in the Bay Area, and the others are of celebrations in India.
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| Livermore, California by: Shirsha Basu |
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| Fremont, California by: Shirsha Basu |
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| Fremont, California by: Shirsha Basu |
My neighborhood pandal in Kolkata. The entire street is illuminated in lights:
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
As I mentioned before, artists creatively depict the Durga idol. This particular artist used mushrooms to create her:
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
This entire pandal is created with small plastic balls:
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
People celebrate day and night in the streets with their families and friends:
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
Another Goddess in Kolkata:
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| Kolkata, India by: Rhituparna Bhattacharya |
Here are pictures from celebrations in Bangalore. This is the first time I've ever seen the idol to be pink:
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| Bangalore, India by: Mohit Saha |
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| Bangalore, India by: Mohit Saha |
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| Bangalore, India by: Mohit Saha |
Another pandal:
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| Kolkata, India by: Rhituparna Bhattacharya |
Another creative idol in a very surrealistic style:
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| Kolkata, India by: Rhituparna Bhattacharya |
This is the first time I've ever seen the idols decorated with silver:
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| Kolkata, India by: Samrat Basu |
One of Kolkata's most famous and creative pandals, Mohammad Ali Park:
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| Kolkata, India by: Rhituparna Bhattacharya |
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