Paoli Dam, actress

The Pujas have always been a time of double celebrations for me. That’s because my birthday often falls at this time. My most romantic Puja would have to be the one when I was 16 years old. I was at the local pandal with my uncles and aunts when I noticed a pair of eyes following me. It was an exciting, yet an innocent kind of feeling. And then somebody from the crowd thrust a piece of paper into my hand, only to be snatched away from me by my uncle. I guess it must have been somebody’s phone number. The sheer innocence of that experience makes it the most romantic Puja moment for me.

Prosenjit, actor

It’s quite difficult to pick one particular romantic moment during the Pujas. However, when I look back, I suppose my teens were the only phase associated with Puja romanticism. Once I became an actor, the Puja charm was lost as whenever I visited pandals people would look at me rather than at anything else. But as a teenager I remember going out with my friends, fixing up dates, ogling young girls. The smell, the touch, the wait for those four days when one could mix freely with girls, then the dating — all that was part of the romance of the Pujas.

Parno Mitra, actress

When I was in Class VIII, I went pandal-hopping with a guy I had a crush on. He was really cute and had come stocked with chocolates. So every time I said I was feeling hungry a chocolate would pop out of his pocket. That Puja was really special as I got to spend the entire day with him, walking from one pandal to another. Even though we were with a group of friends it was very romantic and I felt special to be with him.

Rituparna Sengupta, actress

My most romantic Puja was when Sanjay (husband) came all the way to Calcutta from the US to be with me. This was just before our wedding. It did feel good. On his request, we went pandal-hopping and even braved the crowds. Unfortunately, some people recognised me and soon, a huge crowd gathered around us. The day may not have ended in a perfect way, but this is something that I remember even today.

Srijit, director

I don’t remember the particular year, but it must have happened when I was around 15 or 16 years old. Me and two other guys were vying for the attention of this one girl. We kept trying to go one up on each other. But it was all for nothing, because on Vijaya Dashami day we found out that she already had a boyfriend! So we mourned the fact by going and playing cricket. And we did that every year since then. Eventually, we three became close friends and the girl faded away.

Suvaprasanna, artist

Durga Puja has always been special to me. When I was young I would run away from home every Panchami evening and go to Central Avenue to get the first glimpse of Ramesh Pal’s idol. It was a breathtaking sight. Ramesh Pal was the first one who drifted away from the traditional ek chalchitra idol and introduced the human-like figure of Goddess Durga. This was the most romantic thing I did during the Pujas as this was the only time when I would let my free spirit rule and would break away from the bonds of routine life.

Moon Moon Sen, actress

As a young girl, I was not much into the Pujas. Being a Loreto girl does that to you — you become anglicised. When I look back, I see myself as a young girl tagging along with Runa mashi (youngest aunt) and walking down Gariahat, eyeing boys and gorging on roadside edibles. It was only later in life that I got connected with my roots. And that really happened after I got married. I got introduced to sindoor khela then. For me that is the most romantic thing during Pujas.

Sujoy Ghosh, director

The most romantic thing about the Pujas when I was young was that it gave one access to girls. It was the best time to meet girls, hold hands and talk to them. Though I didn’t spend too many Pujas in Bengal, I remember it was four days of full-on fun for me. But somehow, I never managed to have a planned romance during that festive season.

Priyanshu Chatterjee, actor

My most romantic Puja was when I was 16 years old. There was this girl who was a regular at the 27 Pally Puja. She was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. I used to ogle her from a distance and I felt that she did the same — and this continued for four days. Aag do taraf lagi thi — the fire was lit on both sides. I used to be there at the pandal every night and so would she. I cannot explain the feeling — it was absolutely magical. I never talked to her and I also had to leave Calcutta soon after. But I can never forget that girl’s beautiful face.

Nayonika Chatterjee, model

Though Durga Puja is one occasion when Bengali men and women love to date, I don’t have any romantic pujo to recall. That’s because I was dating my husband, who is a Punjabi, for 13 years before we got married. But my most memorable Puja was in 2010 when I took my nine-year-old daughter Nayontara to Calcutta for the first time for the Pujas. She loved all the rituals — from Ashtami’s anjali to Nabami’s sandhi pujo. She relished eating the bhog too. Most afternoons we hung around the Puja pandal at Palm Avenue as the Puja there was started by my late grandmother. At night we used to go pandal-hopping. I relived my childhood Puja days through my daughter that year.