Year: 55th
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Theme: This club likes to choose its themes based on fairy tales for children. This time it is Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury’s Jola aar Saat Bhooter Kanda. Jola is a little boy who lives with his mother and seven friendly ghosts give him gifts which are stolen by his friend. The entire pandal ground has been transformed into Jola’s village with thatched-roofed mud huts and barns. An old Sand Paper tree (sheora gachh) has been made in the middle of the ground, where the seven friendly ghosts live. The story is acted out on the ground by 13 actors, for the visitors who come to the pandal in the evenings. Sound and light effects make the story more lively and interesting. The show is running every evening from 6pm to 1am at the pandal till October 25.
Bijoli Balak Sangha
Year: 55th
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Theme: The outside of the pandal has been designed after the ISKCON temple in Mayapur. Inside, the walls of the pandal have been made with hogla strips and decorated with designs cut out of thermocol and covered with jute. This has given the interior of the pandal a natural colour.
Madhya Brindaban Yubak Brinda
Year: 50th
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The club is celebrating its golden jubilee with a colourful pandal and philanthropic activities. Blankets and clothes were distributed among underprivileged people and food supplies were donated to an orphanage. However, the biggest draw was Tollywood actor Nusrat Jahan who lit the inaugural lamp at the pandal on October 21. Howrah MP, Prasun Banerjee, the minister for agriculture marketing, Arup Roy were also present. Tollywood actor Soham also visited the pandal on Kali Puja.
Kantapukur Battala Sporting Club
Year: 61st
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Theme: Moving away from the usual ghost theme, this club has tried to do something new this year. The evergreen Bollywood hit film, Sholay, has come alive at the pandal of Kantapukur Battala Sporting Club this Kali Puja. The scene in the ravines where Veeru is tied between two pillars and Basanti is forced to dance in front of Gabbar and his gang, has been recreated at this pandal. The ravines have been created with the help of jute and plaster of Paris. Robbers stood at different points carrying guns while a man dressed as Veeru was seen tied between two pillars. A boiling pot hanging from three bamboo posts over a fire with horses tied near the scene complete the picture. A girl dressed as Basanti dances to Jab tak hai jaan for Gabbar and the visitors at the pandal. The show has 10 actors and starts from 6pm every evening till October 25.
Dalia Mukherjee’s round-up of Kali Puja 2014
Balitikuri Biplabi Balak Sangha
Year: 50th
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Theme: The pandal has been designed after the Danteswari temple in Jagdalpur, Chhatisgarh. The festivities associated with the deity have been shown here. A chariot has been made where the idol of Kali has been placed. The walls of the pandal have been decorated with the handicrafts of the Bastar tribals, who live in that district of Chhatisgarh. It is believed that Danteswari protects the people of Bastar and all festivities of Dusshera in this district are around this goddess. A tribal environment has been created at this pandal, indicating that a large percentage of the population in Bastar are Adivasis.
Bally Kalyaneswar Sammelani
Year: 98th
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Theme: Based on 2013 Hollywood horror flick, The Conjuring, the pandal has been set up as the haunted house in Rhode Island where a family has shifted and are facing all kinds of eerie experiences. Finally, a paranormal investigator comes to their rescue, tries to rid the house of the ghosts. Appropriate light and sound effects have been used to create the eerie environment while eight actors acted out the scene before visitors at the pandal. Visitors stood inside the pandal and watched the seven to eight minute show. It starts from 6pm onwards and will be shown till October 26.
Balitikuri Netaji Balak Sangha
Year: 44th
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Theme: From outside, the pandal looks like several sacred fires burning. Visitors enter the pandal after crossing a massive trident stuck in the ground. A number of yagna kundus appear to be burning through which visitors enter the pandal. They pass through a maze of such yagna fires burning all around. After crossing the last one, the visitors reach the mandap where the idol is placed. The idol, too, is different. Although it is made of clay, Kali looks like a rustic figure carved out of touchstone (kashthi pathar). A sari is wrapped around the deity with a streak of vermillion smeared across its head. The effect of the burning fires is done with the help of lights.
Kadamtala Pancham Sangha
Year: 48th
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Theme: The club is well-known in central Howrah for its themes on Kali Puja, designed every year by the members themselves. Starting from making the pandal to acting out at the pandal every night, all club members are deeply involved. Scenes from the Ramayana have been shown here with the help of actors. Starting from Dasarath going to the forest to hunt and killing Shravan Kumar by mistake, to the curse by the blind sage and his wife, till Rama, Sita and Lakshman’s exile, the first part of the epic has been acted out in small skits at the pandal. Complete with appropriate costumes and sets, 17 members of the club, including children, are the actors. The show has started from October 23 and will continue till October 25.
Sathi Football Club
Year: 57th
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| Picture by Anup Bhattacharya |
Theme: Rash Utsav at Vrindavan has been depicted at the pandal at Khalisani in Uluberia. Lord Krishna and Radha’s 11 types of leela have been shown at the pandal with the help of clay models. A tulsi mancha has been made at the centre of the pandal. The entire pandal has been decorated with diyas and a mystic light has been used to create the appropriate ambience for Rash. In keeping with the theme, a thatched village mandap has been shown where a ten-armed image of Kali has been placed. A separate Shyama Kali idol has been made for the puja.
Shibpur Bijoyee Sangha
Year: 56th
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This Dasa Mahavidya temple in Shibpur has a ten-day long Kali Puja celebration starting from Kali Puja day itself. Nine other forms of the goddess are worshipped. This year the puja will continue till November 1. The annual annakoot will be held on October 26 where nearly 6,000 to 7,000 people will be treated. Animal sacrifice takes place on the new moon (Amavasya) after Kali Puja. Cultural programmes will be held from October 28 onwards.
Belgachhia Mahamanab Sangha
Year: 87th
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Theme: This club has chosen to celebrate Mohun Bagan club’s 125th anniversary and also pay tribute to Sailen Manna. The pandal has been styled after the Mohun Bagan tent, recreating the entrance with the club logo on top, the football ground, gallery, lawn and also the canteen of the club. The canteen actually serves the club’s famous mutton stew and vegetable cutlet. Visitors to the pandal can buy these items from the canteen. Wooden benches of the club have been placed in the lawn. There are six zones, paying tribute to six generations of players, starting from Sailen Manna and Badru Banerjee to Bhaichung Bhutia and Odafe Onyeka Okolie. The pandal was inaugurated on October 22 by Badru Banerjee, Satyajit Chatterjee and the assistant coach of the Mohun Bagan club, Sankarlal Chakraborty.
Pictures by Gopal Senapati
