Afternoon showers marred pandal-hopping on Ashtami but only for a short while.

By late afternoon, long queues were back at puja pandals across the town, with several carrying umbrellas.

During the morning hours, long lines of individuals adorned in their festive attire gathered for floral offerings to the Goddess. At numerous pandals, this ritual was succeeded by the distribution of bhog. The scent of freshly cooked food permeated the atmosphere.

The morning was uncomfortable because of the weather. More than the heat, it was the humidity that tormented people.

When the rain began around 1pm, many sought shelter inside pandals. Out came the umbrellas on the road.

Shyambazar, Sovabazar and Hatibagan in the north and Rashbehari Avenue-SP Mukherjee Road crossing, Gariahat, Chetla and New Alipore attracted heavy footfall, said police sources.

Bowbazar in central Calcutta also attracted huge crowds with most revellers choosing to walk down MG Road from Sealdah station to visit pandals in the area.

"The showers slowed traffic for a while in the afternoon. But in the evening, except for parts where the pedestrian crossovers have been heavy, traffic has by far moved seamlessly,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

Visitors opted for zones that have a cluster of pujas in close vicinity, like the Rashbehari Avenue crossing with puja pandals extending up to Gariahat in the east and New Alipore in the west or Sovabazar with Hatibagan and Nalin Sarkar Street in the east and Kumartuli in the west.

"We spent the first half of the day at the puja at our housing complex. We gorged on bhog for lunch and caught a quick nap. Now, we are out again. The pujas of New Alipore, Tollygunge and Behala are on our list tonight," Satyaki Ghosh, 31, told Metro near the Suruchi Sangha pandal. Ghosh came from Salt Lake with three friends.

For many, festive fun meant a movie followed by a meal.

Sukanya Halder, who is in the marketing team of a real-estate company, watched Devi Chowdhurani, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Srabanti Chatterjee at a plex at South City Mall with two friends.

The three then went to Cafe Mezzuna at the same mall. “We got a table after waiting for around 25 minutes. For us, Puja means to sit back and relax. What better way to do it than this," said Halder.

Metro and suburban trains were packed. Kalighat and Sovabazar on the Blue Line were among the busiest stations, because of the proximity to several big-ticket pujas.

Moloy Das, 45, came with his wife and eight-year-old son from New Barrackpore in North 24-Parganas. They took a train to Sealdah first and Ballygunge next. Bosepukur Sitala Mandir pandal in Kasba was their first stop. We have Ekdalia, Singhi Park, Tridhara, Ballygunge Cultural, and several other pujas in our list," said Das, who works at a jewellery showroom in central Calcutta.