Residents of AC Block gather around the khuti decorated with leaves

AC Block Residents Association organised khuti puja on June 29 to mark the start of Durga puja proceedings this year. About 70-75 residents turned up for the one-hour programme which was held on the street in front of the block’s community hall. It was a great occasion for the neighbours to meet up.

“This is the third year that we are holding the ritual but this time we have done it on a bigger scale. This is the first time that we asked our priest to come and perform the ritual,” said joint puja secretary Samit Roy as Kankurgachhi resident Tapas Achatya, who serves at the block’s Durga puja, anointed the sel log khuti with sindoor. Local councillor Anindya Chattopadhyay dropped by in course of the event.

The celebrations had begun the evening before with a cultural programme which started with an agomoni song. Barnali Pal, a block resident, sang the Rabindrasangeet Ei shuni jyano charanadhwani. Roy himself sang Tomar bhubone mago eto paap from the film Morutirtha Hinglaj. Bula Bagchi, a former student of Bratati Bandyopadhyay, presented a bouquet of poems while a dance recital was organised by Achira Adhya.

“We hold a traditional puja every time with a daaker saaj idol. Last year, our pandal was modelled on Badrinath temple, the year before on Rashtrapati Bhavan and on Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral house two years back. This time we are considering presenting Prinsep Ghat with the second Hooghly bridge at a side. The decision is not final yet,” Roy said.