Koel Mullick

The five days are unamalgamated fun. All our family members will gather at Mullickbari. My cousins and I will stay awake all night and chat. We will only have beauty naps in the morning to avoid dark circles. Our pishimas and jethimas will pamper us a lot. Lunch and dinner will be strictly vegetarian on all five days. Thakuma will prepare a special dish called Doi Karma and we will fast every day till anjali. After anjali, we will have a special lunch prepared by the Mullickbari thakur. There will be rice, alu bhaja, dal, phool kopir charchari and chutney. Around 100 members of Mullickbari will sit and eat together. I am not given any special treatment because I’m a star. On Ekadashi, I will drive out with my cousins and check out some pandals.

Raima Sen

This Puja, I am shooting for a comedy called C Company with Tusshar Kapoor. We might shoot till late evening, so no partying at night. I was in Mumbai during last Puja too, but Riya and I had gone to visit the Mukherjeebari puja. Their puja is the best in Mumbai and we had loads of fun. This year too I had planned to visit Mukherjeebari.

Rituparna Sengupta

I am busy shooting for Karan Razdan’s film Mittal vs Mittal with Rohit Roy and Suchitra Krishnamurthy till Saptami. But I will be in Calcutta on Ashtami. Ashtami is very special for me. I will drop into my mother’s place in the morning, wear a new sari and offer anjali. And then I will gorge on bhog. It will also be a kind of family gathering as I will meet my cousins. We will have a lot of fun. No one cooks at home for those five days and all the people of the apartment eat together.
The day after Dashami, I will be back in Mumbai to resume shooting.

Resshmi Ghosh

I will be in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune during the Pujas. It’s Navratri over here in Mumbai and I get offers to attend dandiya functions from various places. I am very excited; it’s great fun! But no pandal-hopping for me, as I will also be shooting for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.

June

I will chill out for the four days with my friends, family and my two kids, Shivangini and Shivendra. I will spend Ashtami with friends, in long addas. I will also drop into a spa and pamper myself a bit. At night I will definitely visit Maddox Square; that’s my parar puja. I will also visit my painter friend Sanatan Dinda’s residence in Hatibagan. The Durga idol there is beautiful. I also don’t miss Rani Rashmoni’s puja in Jaanbazar.

Arunima

I will spend Saptami with my family and friends. We will have long addas at home. I will go pandal-hopping on Ashtami, Navami and Dashami. I do it every year. This time we plan to visit the north Calcutta pujas. We will go out late at night and of course I will spend some time at Maddox Square, which I religiously do every year.

Koneenica

I will be busy with events and inaugurations on all four days. In a way it’s good because I will be able to visit a lot of pandals. On Saptami, I will go to our ancestral house in Burdwan and stay there for a day. I will be back home for the Ashtami anjali. I love the sound of dhak and I don’t mind dancing to its beat at my parar puja in Bakulbagan.

Locket

I will be busy with puja inaugurations till Ashtami. On Navami, I want to relax with family and friends. I will also catch up with some relatives. We will have addas that will drag on till midnight. I won’t go pandal-hopping as there’s too much traffic jam. I visit Dakshineswar temple on Dashami every year, but this time I will be on my way to Murshidabad for a jatra show, Buro Khokar Kochi Bou.

Sreelekha Mitra

I will be busy with puja inaugurations till Saptami. But I will be home on Ashtami. We have a puja in our Dhakuria apartment. I will offer anjali and have fun. There will be family get-togethers too. I will take part in the sindurkhela on Dashami.

Indrani Halder

I like to spend quality time with my friends and family these four-five days. I will stay at home on Saptami and spend time with my mother and close friends. I may visit a few pujas late at night on Ashtami. Navami will be great fun because some of my close friends, who are also actors and actresses, will drop into my New Alipore home. We will have a long adda over food. On Dashami I will be there at my parar puja. There is a ritual of going around the para with the idol before visarjan...

Gargi Roy Chowdhury

I will be shooting for serials till Sashthi, but from Saptami I will live like a queen. I will eat a lot and I will have whatever I like. I will also visit a few close friends and spend time with my parents. I won’t hop around pandals but will offer anjali at our parar puja.

Koena Mitra

I’m not too sure if I will make it to Calcutta this Puja, but I want to. I have missed Durga puja in Calcutta for the past four years. If I am there, I won’t go pandal-hopping as the roads remain blocked. I can see three puja pandals from the terrace of our Triangular Park home. Puja also means a special menu, and though I’m not a foodie I end up eating a lot of sweets on Dashami when I visit mamabari and pishirbari. I miss Bengali food a lot in Mumbai. I have two cooks here, one is Marathi and the other is Punjabi. So I plan to gorge on rice and maachher jhol!