A group of young professionals have relaunched a portal that will allow people to hop pandals from the comfort of their homes.
The portal can be accessed on any device with Net connectivity. It offers a 360-degree view of 50 major Durga Puja pandals in the city. Sreebhumi Sporting Club, Chetla Agrani, Shibmandir and Badamtala Ashar Sangha are some of the pandals that can be viewed on the app.
The portal offers Virtual Reality (VR) compatible visuals, which have been shot in high definition. One can access the web-based application by typing in www.thepujaapp.com on any browser.
Once the page opens those logging in can click on whichever puja they want to tour virtually. From the grand facade of lavish pandals to the most intricate detailing, everything can be viewed.
The portal can be accessed free of cost. It is the brainchild of Avishek Chakraborty, an engineer, Soumyo Mukherjee, a media professional, and Arpan Chatterjee, an animator.
Mukherjee said the group had first launched the portal in 2013 with a couple of pujas.
“We had started mainly to cater to people from Bengal living elsewhere. This year, we expect many people to log into the portal as they would prefer to hop pandals from the safety of their homes,” Mukherjee said.
Durga Puja is the biggest festival in Bengal. The celebrations are now India’s official nomination for a pride of place on the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” (ICH) list for 2020, recognised by UNESCO.
Visitors will not be allowed inside pandals, Calcutta High Court had ruled on Monday, while laying down a series to steps to be taken in and around pandals to prevent overcrowding.
