A north Calcutta lane opens into a playground transformed — not just into a pandal, but into a portal to the enchanted world of Leela Majumdar. In this dreamlike space, visitors are transported to their childhoods, immersed once more in storybooks where magic lives alongside the mundane, and fantasy unfolds quietly within everyday lives.
The beloved author, whose luminous prose has lit up the imaginations of generations, is at the heart of Kashi Bose Lane Sarbojanin this year. There’s no centenary or commemorative occasion. “She is my favourite author. It didn’t matter that this isn’t a milestone year. I have focused on her craft and tried to visually present the state of mind that her readers are transported to,” said theme-maker Anirban Das.
The elliptical pandal, appearing almost like an ephemera, is designed to be viewed from the outside rather than entered. White cloth projections flap on either side, as if ready to take wing. At ground level, the space is open to the viewer. Inside, the goddess stands in a deluge of colours that cut through the whiteness. Outside, at a higher level, welded iron-framed armchairs are positioned at varying heights, jutting out like surreal seating arrangements. “Those are armchairs,” Das said. “The perfect place to lounge with a Leela Majumdar novel.”
But the visual narrative doesn’t end at the pandal. In a continuation of the storytelling technique he employed in his celebrated Abol Tabol theme two years ago, Das has extended the story to the houses surrounding the ground. Their facades have become canvases, painted with characters from Majumdar’s stories or covers of her books. The wall space between two windows becomes Kheror Khata. A rooftop wall morphs into Batash Bari. A full building front is transformed into the cover of Ajgubi, with children and a cat peeking out from under the first-floor windows.
Padipishir Barmibaksho — one of her most iconic tales — is given pride of place, with its characters sketched around the instantly recognisable red cover.
Another collection, Notun Chhele Natabar, is also featured. Natabar himself appears as a life-size cutout, both on the ground and on a wall. “He is an outsider, someone most would overlook. But Majumdar gives him importance. In her stories, someone from the margins is often moved to the centre,” Das explained.
The theme is titled Pakdondi, named after Majumdar’s autobiography, and evokes her childhood in Shillong. Pine trees line the field’s edge, created from iron sheets cut to shape and processed for a rusty finish. Across their surfaces, lines from her stories are scrawled in white paint, like pages.
Adding to the immersive experience is a live performance. A yellow bird — referencing Holde Pakhir Palak — flaps into view, pursued by masked creatures chasing it, and perhaps their own fantasies.
A mock battle unfolds between a masked Ram and Ravan, with a 10-headed gear, while a masked primate darts about, triggering laughter. A toy train chugs in, its wheels the legs of performers inside, waving from the windows. As the performers take their bow, the yellow bird remains in character, pointing to a giant crossword puzzle at one end. Letters flip, spelling out titles of Majumdar’s stories — and finally, her face appears in collage.
“Our entire neighbourhood came on board to allow the facades to be painted over. The response is fantastic,” said Somen Dutta, general secretary of the puja, managing the Chaturthi night crowd. “People are streaming in from both Vivekananda Road and Hatibagan sides.”