With the tithi for Saraswati puja stretching over two days this year, schools had a choice of when to celebrate. While most schools chose Monday, there were blocks and individuals which offered puja the day before, preferring the convenience of a Sunday, and some others got caught in the confusion.

The tithi for the puja began on 12.12pm of Sunday, stretching till 9.57am Monday. As per tradition, the day that witnesses sunrise is said to be ideal for celebration, as it symbolises keeping the sun as witness to the events of the day. So Monday was the popular choice,

Morning shows the day

“We wanted to remain true to the auspicious timing and did the puja on Monday. Students look forward to offering anjali in the morning, and that is when the essence of the puja is truly felt,” said Kakoli Bagchi, vice-principal of Hariyana Vidya Mandir (HVM).

The theme of the HVM puja was Satyajit Ray, and the students, under the guidance of the school’s art and craft department, had decorated the pandal (with posters and stills of his films). Three students, Saideep Dutta, Rajorpit Sarbajna and Souvik Ghosh, stood in the courtyard capturing moods of the festival with their cameras.

Laban Hrad Vidyapith, popularly known as AD School, too, chose Monday to celebrate. Their pandal was done up with alpana and flower mandalas and, under the guidance of physics teacher Tirthankar Bera, students had used the play of light and angles to create beautiful illusions. And what better way to celebrate Saraswati puja than by bringing together the arts and sciences?

“We opted for the second day for the puja as we wanted to maintain the rituals strictly,” said Bera. “Even students were keen to abide by these customs and insisted on keeping a fast till they had offered anjali. Had the puja been on Sunday they would have had to stay hungry till noon, and it would have been exhausting for them.”

Satyajit Ray was the theme at the Hariyana Vidya Mandir puja

Ram Ayan Chowdhury of Class X held the puja at home on Sunday so he was free to come and enjoy at school on Monday. His friend Shibashish Pal had risen early that morning so he could complete the puja at home and rushed to school afterwards.

All eyes at this school, however, were on Rupak Das of Class VII, who stole the show with his south Indian attire. He had donned a panchakacham (white dhoti with golden border, with a simple drape at the waist). The boy had wanted to look unique and had gone shopping with his grandfather for this.

Pick ’n’ choose

“While the muhurta was our primary concern, we also needed time to complete the decorations over the weekend,” said Sanjib Pal, physical science teacher of Bidhannagar Municipal School in FE Block.

They celebrated on Monday but Bengali teacher Susmita Bhar said many ex-students had landed up in school on Sunday for the puja! “Many of them wouldn’t be able to come on Monday, as it is a working day for them,” she said.

The management of Bidhannagar Government High School in BD Block was not confident of students reaching on time and therefore hosted the puja on Sunday itself. “Many students wouldn’t be able to wake up early enough to offer anjali on Monday, so Sunday was chosen,” said chemistry teacher Tapas Kumar Samanta.

Packed schedule

Kopal Chakraborty, the priest who performed the puja at the municipal school, said he had an equal share of pujas to perform on both days. “Even though Monday offers a short time slot, I’ve been toiling since 4 in the morning, performing pujas in residential areas, before arriving at school on time,” he said.

Stalls of flower vendors near schools stocked marigold on Monday too but some of them wore long faces as two dates did not mean double the sales. “Most people have completed their purchase on the first day itself, given the slim time slot on Day Two,” said a lady selling flowers in CA Block.

Decorations at Laban Hrad Vidyapith in AD Block.

Sweets shops said residential pujas, rather than schools, accounted for most of their sales. Ice cream seller Pintu Chowdhury stood solemnly before his cart in AD Block, unable to milk the occasion due to the split in dates. “This year I couldn’t get the full flood of students on a single day,” he said.