What better way to celebrate the Pujas than by doing something quite off-the-beaten-track? Dare to be different as they say. Be it in your culinary indulgences, music, getting around the city or even the manner in which you pray — we bring you five must-dos for this Puja. So, let the festivities begin!

1 WORLD ON YOUR PALATE

The Pujas are synonymous with following food trails over the four days. Yes, the ashtami special mahabhoj and the pnathar jhol on nabami are a given. But do set aside some time to take a culinary trek around the globe — right here in the city. If it’s traditional Indian fare you’re serving at home, then go global with a vengeance when you dine out. We have picked the best options that the city has to offer.

Your first stop could be Zara, the Tapas Bar in South City Mall. After the success of Zara, Chennai, the Oriental Group has touched base in Calcutta with a new Tapas restaurant. For those who came in late, Tapas is the national style of dining in Spain, that of quaffing your drinks as you eat. The Tapas lifestyle is said to encourage conversation and is quite a rage in the US and UK. Zara’s menu boasts of classical Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine.

The flavours of the Orient beckon at Zen at The Park. Seafood buffs can begin the meal with something like chilli garlic crab claws and follow it up with the best of Schezuan cuisine. Go for the red pepper lamb and finish on a sweet note with fried banana or a date pancake.

For an international live grill experience, look no further than the West View bar and Grill at the ITC - The Sonar. Guests grill their choice of meat, seafood or vegetables on a piping hot, black rock slab. From Bluefin Maguro tuna to Arabian Sea lobster, the selection is huge and what’s more, your grilled food comes without additional oil.

If sunny Italy’s on your mind, then step right into La Cucina at The Hyatt Regency. From antipasti, to home-made pasta, wood fire pizzas and risottos, it’s all there. The oenophile too gets to have a field day at their floor to ceiling wine library that stocks the best of French, Italian (but of course), American and Australian wines. Bon appétit, or rather, buon appetito.

2 MUSIC MANIA

Calcutta is the place to be during the Pujas, when the city comes together for one big party. From the dhaki’s beat to the wild strumming of electric guitars, this is that time of the year when sounds abound. And instead of being a passive listener to canned music, catch the action live on the music scene. Calcutta’s most popular bands will be bringing the festive season alive with their pulsating music.

Don’t miss percussionist Bickram Ghosh’s performances on ashtami and nabami at Northern Park Puja and at Behala Sen Hati. He’s also bringing a new concert, ‘Electric'’, with Amyt Dutta and the renowned multi-percussionist, Pete Lockett, for performances set to rock nightclubs till the end of the year.

Catch Krosswindz live on saptami at Lake Town’s Kalindi Durgotsav and Someplace Else on ashtami. Lakkhichhara will be painting the city red with their performances at hotspots like Baghbazar and Ballygunge Cultural. They’ll be belting out folk and rock numbers along with their ever popular Telephone and Paliye Berai. And for the band’s fans, the fun doesn’t stop there. The band is set to launch their new album Ami soon after.

Sahar will be doing the rounds in the city as well. You can watch them live at Golf Green Phase I and other places. Catch them in action as they perform Rang Botol and Fan Dao from their soon to be launched album Shunye Dosh.

Someplace Else at The Park will play host to the festive season with its regular line up of bands, which includes Orient Express on saptami and Span on dashami.

So here’s to a musical Puja…

3 WALK THE LINE

While every Puja-crazy, pandal-hopping Calcuttan’s heart beats to the rhythm of the dhakis, his blood pressure shoots up every time he drives into the chaotic traffic. So give yourself a break and walk the talk this year. Here’s something to make things even more interesting. Talk some friends into it and make reservations for a heritage walk with Calcutta Walks.

Conceived and designed by Iftekhar Ahsan, Calcutta Walks was founded a little over a year ago. The 27-year-old, with his friends and fellow ‘explorers’ Manjit Singh Hoonjan and Priscilla Kerr and co-owner Pritish Shah, organise walks around the city. “A lot of us are embarrassed about our city — of the dirt, grime, the pace. But look beyond all this and Calcutta is a city with character. A city swathed in layers of history, where every nook and corner has a story. We want to help our guests explore this side of Calcutta,” says Iftekhar.

And what better way to take in the sights and sounds of a city than to walk through its bylanes — and without honking cars, belligerent cabbies and traffic signals getting in your way.

While these jaunts are mostly customised to suit the interests of the walkers, Calcutta Walks has designed trips like Confluence of Cultures — Bow Barracks to Burrabazar, In the Footsteps of the Raj — Dalhousie Square as well as Reminiscence and Resurgence — Chowringhee. The duration of a walk is two-and-a-half hours but feel free to ask your Explorers — “NOT guides”, insists Iftekhar — to meander some more.

Walks around Kumartuli and Sovabazar for a glimpse of the para and rajbari Pujas are highlights this season. And as a Puja treat this year, the walks will be free for Calcuttans all October.

Calcutta Walks can be contacted at calcuttawalks@gmail.com or 9830184030, 22110416/40052573

4 TRAMLINING

If doing it by foot seems too much of a chore, then there’s another green option at hand. Yes, make the most of being part of the only Indian city which has a running tram network. And we don’t just mean hop on at Park Circus and hop off at Dharmatala crossing.

Think of the lush green Maidan seen through bits of wispy lace curtains, think of an unobstructed view of the clear skies as you look up at the fibre glass roofs, think of total privacy as you gaze out of one-way glass windows — yes trams are the way to go.

The CTC (Calcutta Tramways Company Limited) has two special heritage cars — the Bolaka which is a single-carriage 26-seater and the Bonolota, a double-carriage 42-seater — that you can rent for a private party. And the best part is that you can decide which route you want it to take.

Rent the Bolaka for Rs 20,000 for seven hours, though a minimum of three hours will cost Rs 15,000. For the double-carriage Bonolata, the minimum tariff is Rs 21,000 for three hours and Rs 25,000 for seven hours.

In addition, the city has received another gift from the CTC recently. Two special carriages have been unveiled by CTC with interiors by designer Rekha Srivastava. The cabins have fibreglass tops, spacious seats, piped music and more. These carriages too will be available for rent and the CTC office is already busy fielding inquiries from interested citizens. The tariff is yet to be disclosed though it will be comparable to the Bonolata rates.

So just take that party on the right track and you surely won’t be disappointed, we promise.

Contact Gautam Nag at 033 64526047 for details.

5 THE RIVER RUNNERS

How about celebrating Puja on the Ganges? This year, prime travel agency, Ajanar Sandhane is organising a motor launch Puja, that will throw in lunch, tea and dinner on all five Puja days. They are putting two launches together and for all five days beginning shashti, you can actually savour the sights and sounds of the river. You can board them from Fairley Place.

They leave twice a day — at 9am and 4pm respectively. While the launches will cruise from Fairley to Barrackpore up north and to Metiabruz down south, the morning cruise will cost Rs 400 and the evening one, Rs 500 each. The launches can accommodate 300 people.

A season’s ticket (for all five days) costs Rs 3,600 per person. Immersion will be especially poignant with sindur khela thrown in before the idol is immersed. You can also get off at the Belur Ghat to witness the bhashan of the Belur Math puja on dashami.

On board entertainment will also be provided with samaptir gaan on dashami evening. Things will be wrapped up with dinner and a view of the lights dying out on a river which will just have seen the last of the goddess for the year.

There are other choices on the river. The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation is all set to take you through the motions of immersion rituals of dashami, when a launch will take you midstream to witness the farewell to the Goddess. The 90-minute sojourn on the river will cost Rs 250 per person and will include snacks on board.

You can contact Ajanar Sandhane at 9830651571 and West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation at 033 22437260.