Peep into the city’s most prominent Durgotsav pandals and their activities

Devi Power Holds City In Trance

Mumbai’s swaying to the tunes of Navratri and with frenzied fervour

    Cutting across social and cultural boundaries, Navratri is celebrated by the rich and poor alike with an enthusiasm that’s contagious. The Bengali community, in particular, have the Durga Puja to partake…and leave no stone unturned in the revelry associated.
    Echoing popular sentiments of Bengalis settled in Mumbai, Loop Mobile’s CEO Sandip Basu’s take probably sums it all. “I look forward to Durga Puja every year finding the opportune time to connect with our community, savour the best of Bengali food and experience the Bengali culture through various cultural expressions amidst a busy schedule in Mumbai.” Here’s goes a peep into the city’s most prominent Durgotsav pandals and their activities this year. 

    THE TALLEST OF ‘EM ALL! Andheri Link Road’s Sarbojanik Durga Puja Pandal in DN Nagar has been awarded ‘the best and the safest Durga Puja Mandal’. And, this for three consecutive years is quite a feat.
    Goddess Durga’s idol, created by artist Amit Pal stands 22 feet tall and is said to be the tallest Durga idol in Mumbai. The pandal, reportedly among the better-managed in the city, has earmarked a 60-feet-wide stage for Durga’s idol. The ground where the revellers play garba and dandiya is spread over 1.5 acres. Indian actor Rituparna Sengupta is the brand ambassador of this pandal.
    Twelve priests, headed by Pandit Kedarnathji, especially called from Benaras, perform the puja every day during the festival. According to the organisers, daily more than 75,000 revellers arrive to join in the celebration. The food is ordered from Hotel Sahara Star. Parking arrangement is done efficiently by the organisers and locals so that revellers don’t have to hunt for a parking spot during the festive time. 

    MUMBAI’S BENGAL CLUB The 90-year-old Bengal Club will be organising its 77th Durgotsav in Dadar’s Shivaji Park, this year. The theme of this pandal is Thakurwadi, the traditional house of Rabindranath Tagore. An exact replica of Thakurwadi has been created by celebrated art director of Slumdog Millionaire fame, Abhishek Redkar.
    Like every year, celebrities and Bollywood actors participated in the festivities during which the footfall is nothing less than one million people. Bengal Club organises exciting competitions for the revellers to participate. Three competitions have been organised during this five day festivities, the first competition that will be hosted on October 21 will be Sankha Dhwani (Conch Blowing) that will start from 7.30 pm onwards. The next day, Dhak & Dhunuchi dance competition will be organised at the same time and on October 23 Dhak-Dhunuchi - Dandiya dance competition will take place as well. 

    CELEBRATING WITH A CAUSE Juhu Progressive Association (JPA), a philanthropic organisation created for benefit of destitute children and offering a scholarship to needy children, will be organising the JVPD Sarbojanin Durgotsav. The association is also known to organises blood donation camps and partake in myriad social activities. 

    REVELRY THE TRUE BENGALI STYLE Goregaon’s Kallol Kalibari has hosted its 48th Durgapuja from October 20—24. It’s the Dhunuchi Nach which marks the Navratri celebrations, as a rule. The crowds gathering to celebrate wait patiently for the Nach, every evening. The pandal decorated in traditional Bengali style looks like a quaint Bengal village and provides a peep into the real Bengal. 

    GOING GREEN THIS PUJA This year, the New Bombay Bengali Association (NBBA) will be celebrating Navratri in an eco-friendly way. The theme of the pandal is ‘Going Green.’ So, in keeping with the mood of the moment, care has been taken to ensure the Durga idol and other key elements required in preparing the pandal are all eco-friendly. NBBA is also placing special emphasis on Energy Savings and Environmental Protection through the festival.
    The association organises a host of events during the festive days. 

    BLESSED BY THE GODDESS This year being the 65th anniversary of the Juhu’s North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Pujo, its Pandal is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanda at Hotel Tulip Star, Juhu. The North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Pujo Trust was founded in 1948 by Shashadhar Mukherjee of Bombay Talkies, J. M. Bhadra and a few others. Earlier, children of members’ families would perform for the evening entertainment but now professional artists from the film and music industry entertain the revellers.As popular legend goes, those who have voluntarily performed on the stage for evening entertainment at this Puja Pandal have done “enormously well in life because of Goddess Durga’s blessings”. It’s widely believed that Rakhi, Prema Narayan, Mala Sinha, Pradeep Kumar, Joy Mukherji, Rani Mukherji are few of such artists who have benefitted from voluntarily performing on this stage. 

    OIKYOTAN AND AMIT PAL’S CREATION The Bengali community of Kandivli East has pooled in its might with collective fervour to celebrate the Durga Puja organised from October 19 to 24 at the SCN Tennis Ground. Under the banner of Oikyotan, the group has also managed to rope in Artist Amit Pal who helped create the 12-feet protima of Goddess Durga for the festival. 

    REPRODUCING THE MUTH Notunpalli Durgotsab is being held for the last 40 years in the municipal garden at Bandra. This year, the pandal’s theme is similar to Belur Muth as the occasion coincides with Swami Vivekananda 150th birthday. The puja will be inaugurated by the secretary, Maharaj Swami Sarbolokanand of Mumbai Ramkrishna mission.
    Notunpalli Puja is known for its secular outlook and national integration; the bhog here is served to at least 4,000 persons from across religions. Various events have been organised for each day of the celebration starting from Panchami.
    The fest will be inaugurated on October 20, followed by a musical programme by artists. On Saptami, Bengali drama Kinchit Jalojog, directed by Lucky Mukherjee, will be performed by members. 

    CHARITY WITH CELEBRATION The Powai Bengali Welfare Association (PBWA), a charitable organisation formed with the purpose of enhancing cultural and social harmony, is organising its 7th Durga Puja festival – Sarvajanin Durgotsav 2012 – at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, from October 19 to 24. The highlight here is the Gram Bangla theme showcasing the folk art and culture of rural Bengal, particularly the patachitras or scroll paintings related to the nine manifestations of Goddess Durga (Navadurga) and the Chandimangal Kavya painted by national award winning folk artistes or patuas from distant Pingla village of West Midnapore district of Bengal.
    In line with the spirit of the festival, PBWA has planned cultural programs in the mornings and entertainment programmes in the evenings. The string of cultural programs planned in the morning includes renowned Baul and Lokgeeti (folk singers from Bengal) singers enthralling the visitors with the ‘Mukto Mancha’ – a platform to showcase participants’ talents at the pandal. The pandal is organising a ‘Green Puja’ to contribute in a small way to the larger cause of arresting environmental degradation.