What about Kolkata?
Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Known for artists, musician, writers, actors and the list goes on. Kolkata has got rich cultural and religious importance. In October 2018, I visited Kolkata during Durga Pooja also known as Durga Poojo in Bengali.
Delhi to Kolkata
I wanted to absorb the vibe of the state when it is celebrating its biggest festival. If you know about Indian culture, Diwali is a biggest festival which has cultural and financial importance and for Kolkata Durga Pooja is just like Diwali. I was so excited and fascinated by the fact that the whole state would be submerged in joy, colors and festivities during this time.
And the journey began
I took an early morning flight from Delhi to Kolkata. I remember that morning as a pleasant one, the Delhi air smelled good maybe it was my excitement to explore a new place or the weather in October is quite soothing in India.
I boarded the flight, and cruised over the clouds for another 2 hours and landed in Kolkata.
And yes, very important thing to mention here is that I always try to minimize my carbon footprints while travelling especially when I am traveling by air. Either it is by preferring a direct flight, carrying reusable water bottle, things to eat with minimal packaging etc. And I know you are considerate for the environment too 😊
Finally in Kolkata
Coming back to the travel journey. It was 8 am and I was at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, Kolkata. The airport itself had a glimpse of rich art and culture of Kolkata. I had to reach to my home stay which was little towards the countryside of Kolkata. I started to look for transport just outside the airport.
And someone said, ‘didi’ I turned back and there was this shinny bright yellow taxi. Yes, interestingly you can still find the signature yellow taxi in Kolkata. If someone calls you ‘Didi’ in Kolkata that means ‘sister’ and ‘dada’ is used for ‘brother’. I took the taxi and my journey towards my home stay started from there.
The yellow taxi under iconic Howrah bridge
The driver seemed to be a nice and friendly person to me. And not to forget he was very talkative, he loved to interact with travelers. I still remember his name, Bijoya which means victory.
He asked me what I do, is it my first visit in Kolkata. He suggested me that I must explore Park street and must have sandesh, famous sweet of Bengal. Infact he mentioned that he can take me to the famous sandesh sweet shop, namely Girish Chandra Dey (at Ramdulal Sarkar Street) as it wasn’t too far from where I had to go.
Sandesh, sweet of Bengal
I went to the sweet shop had sandesh for the first time in my life and it was really something. I loved it, so I got it packed to have some later as well. The shop was so much crowded with people because of durga pooja days, everyone was buying sweets for their families and friends. Somehow, I made way to the billing counter and collected my package. And we started to head towards my homestay at the countryside.
The festival-Durga pooja
Bijoya told me about the importance of durga pooja in Kolkata, it is a festival that continues for a week. He showed me some ‘durga pandals’ on our way and mentioned that view of the city at night during durga pooja time is spectacular.
If you don’t know what is durga pandal, these are temporary small temples (made with cloth and baboos to support the overall structure. These set ups are created by local communities or bodies living in the area for celebrate durga pooja.
A pandal in the making
Pandal from inside
Many known public figures also set up durga pandals in their areas, and investment cost to set up such pandals is quite high. Every night for the entire week, people gather there to worship the goddess and meet their family or friends. Kolkata remains decorated with flowers, lights, beautiful pandals, lot of street food vendors can be spotted in the entire city.
Bijoya gave me a holistic view of what to expect from the city during this time. And I didn’t realize that I reached my destination while discussing about the city. My stay destination was so serene, it was a small village surrounded by lot of green area, tall trees, wetlands, beautiful fusion of traditionally styled houses etc. I thanked Bijoya for his kind gesture and made me feel home and said good bye.
My visit to Durga Pandal
That night, I got an opportunity to visit the pandal in the village I stayed in. And it was all together an amazing experience. It was decorated with lights, grand goddess idols, flowers, fruits etc. There was amazing fragrance in the pandal, fragrance of the offerings given to goddess, and different kind of substances burned in the offerings to purify the environment there. As far as I could see were people.
Hundreds and Hundreds of people were entering the premises of the pandal to get a glimpse of their goddess. There were small food vendor mobile stores selling authentic Bengali delicacies. I still remember the vibe of Kolkata and I wish to visit there again for sure.
The best thing about travel is to know people, their cultures and to feel one of them. Leaving with with some visuals of the durga pooja ceremony (Sindoor Kheela) during Navratris in Kolkata.
Sindoor Kheela a ceremony in durga pooja
Offerings to goddess
**And that's me in Bengali attire **😍
I love to dress up in different cultural attires 😊😊
Till the next story, keep visiting. 😊😊
Thank you for reading😍
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thank you so very much :) I am delighted 😍😍
This is absolutely wonderful😍
I am so glad that you liked the blog :) 😍Thank you 😀
Thank you very much to each one of you for reading my post. I hope it gave festive vibes 😍😍