MUDIALI-LAKE MARKET

Neither of the first two pujas on the route was fully ready on Panchami morning. Nabapalli Sangha Sarbojanin Durgotsab, in the lane where Bhanu Banerjee and Kabisekhar Kalidas Roy lived, had got hold of one fire extinguisher and a few empty buckets. With fire-fighting preparations not yet in place, they seemed to have left safety to providence with a hibiscus garland hung over their electric supply box.

At Chatushkone Park Saradia Sammilani, where Durga is dressed like a Rajasthani village belle and both Kartik and Ganesh sport colourful turbans, none of the members knew how to operate a fire extinguisher. 

Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club touched a chord. This small-budget puja has had its pandal decorated by club members with toys sold in fairs, based on the theme of Manna Dey’s song Lal Nil Sobujer Mela. The puja was inaugurated by 50 visually impaired children who were gifted clothes. 

“We also organise blind chess and stage a play with blind actors,” said Abhijit Bose, showing the tiny club room where kids learn computers and dance. 

At the adjacent 66 Palli Sarbojanin, the colourful pandal depicting the Santhali festival of Karam is made of eco-friendly material like coconut and betel nut. The puja has left half the street free for traffic. 

Badamtala Ashar Sangha’s dandiya show makes for a delightful view with giant camels and wooden puppets brought from Rajasthan, but score low for its electricity supply system. The main switch is functionless. “In case of an electrical fire, they cannot even isolate the pandal,” commented the judge representing CESC. 

Tolly star Rituparna Sengupta’s old para puja Rashbehari Suhrid Sangha, to whose hoardings she has lent her name, depicts Egypt. Residents get together round the year for cultural programmes on occasions like Rabindra Jayanti. They also organise a blood donation camp and a feast for the needy. The portable toilet they had applied for from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation has yet to arrive, though.

Bengal United Club had listed the materials used in the pandal at the entrance — foil, glass, straw, jute, rope, loofah… So particular are they about wheelchair access that the stairs to the first-aid counter that the decorator had built were ordered to be dismantled. “We will have a ramp ready by afternoon,” said Shalmoli Basu, a young organiser who is also in charge of feeding and treating street dogs on the club’s behalf. The club runs a third-division hockey team whose players they recruit from the districts. A ramp was being readied at Adi Lake Pally when the True Spirit team visited the pandal. 

Ballygunge Cultural Association scored with community involvement. Dhoti-clad Ajoy Basu, 78, welcomed each guest while Avipsha Khanna, 11, put a sandalwood tilak on each forehead. Senior citizen Bapi Mukherjee blew a conch. The first-aid counter, planned by Saptarshi Basu, a doctor, is equipped with a ventilator, a BiPAP machine and ECG 
equipment. 

Sudeshna Banerjee

GOLAGHATA-DUM DUM

Fire extinguishers: check
Smoke detectors: check
Ambulance: check
Wheelchair: check
Resting rooms for senior citizens: check 

Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra and Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha, two veteran participants in the CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja, capture the essence of the True Spirit movement. The other contestants may flaunt innovative themes but have some glaring gaps to fill. 

First, the performers. Enter the Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra pandal and you feel it is Saptami morning, given the steady flow of visitors. The winner of last year’s True Spirit Model Puja award is ready for the early rush, though. The organisers have a comprehensive firefighting plan in place, comprising smoke detectors, 15 sprinklers, fire alarms and a water pipe jacket that can cover the entire pandal. The use of fire-retardant material is a plus. 

 “A lot of thought goes into our planning and safety has been our priority,” said Goutam Biswas, the president of the club. 

The organisers have also paid special attention to the needs of people living with disabilities. There are ramps for ease of access, a resting room and a separate enclosure for child care. 

Less than 100 metres away stands the Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha Puja, beside a lake that has become its signature backdrop. “We are the original Dum Dum Park puja,” said Sudip Barman, a member of the club as 
he took guests on a tour of “river Narmada” and narrated the story of its origin. 

Artwork, music and the culture of states through which the Narmada flows are on display at the pandal. “We have got dancers from Maharashtra who will perform for our visitors in the evening,” Barman said. 

The glitz is unmistakable but the focus of the organisers hasn’t strayed from safety. Like its distinguished neighbour, the pandal has ramps, resting rooms, eight CCTVs, 32 fire extinguishers and several small but significant add-ons. The commitment to not using plastic is commendable too. Dum Dum Park Yubak Brinda has waste bins, emergency exits, fire extinguishers and first-aid kiosks but the theme of a children’s world has been executed with plastic toys and artificial grass that doesn’t look eco-friendly. 

Golaghata Sammelani’s arrangements are true to the theme of sound pollution. While the pandal has replicas of chocolate bombs, speakers, horns and CDs, the organisers have ensured that they don’t cross the decibel limit. “We are using our speakers only for announcements,” said Raju Malik, the treasurer of the puja committee.

Dum Dum Park Sarbajanin Puja Committee has CCTVs, smoke detectors, sprinklers, resting rooms and emergency kiosks. The one problem that looms large is crowd control. “We have members, volunteers and hired guards for the task. The footfall crosses two lakh on the main days,” assured Ashish Mukherjee, a member of the committee.

The other pujas on this route, including Dakshin Dari Youth Forum, Dum Dum Mall Palli Puja Committee and Amra Sobai Club (an all-woman initiative celebrating girl power), are also bracing for the same challenge. 

Chandreyee Ghose

PICNIC GARDEN-EKDALIA-SANTOSHPUR

Pujas in the Picnic Garden-Ekdalia-Santoshpur route are a mixed bag. While all three in the Santoshpur neighbourhood hold their own against each other in the True Spirit stakes, most of the others struggled to cope with the rush of pandal-hoppers on Panchami morning. 

Saradia Sammilani in Ekdalia is celebrating its 75th year with a rajbari-themed pandal. The number of dustbins and no-smoking signs in the pandal are a pleasant sight but the other arrangements failed to stand the test of an early surge of visitors

There were similar scenes at Adi Ballygunge Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity, where something as basic as a first-aid kit was missing until Sunday morning. The steps at the exit looked squeaky and unreliable. 

Poddar Nagar Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee was in better shape with its giant peacock-shaped pandal equipped with an adequate number of fire extinguishers, proper seating for the elderly and clean and functional toilets. 
Santoshpur Avenue South Pally Mangal Samity impressed with its solar streetlights in front of the pandal, an ambulance on stand-by, clean toilets and first-aid kits, all of which score high in terms of True Spirit. 

Santoshpur Trikon Park Sarbojanin Durgotsab Puja Committee’s commitment to the True Spirit norms is admirable too. “Safety has always been one of our priorities. Although we have won almost every other award, we still haven’t got the one for True Spirit!” said Partha Pratim Roy, the club president. 

Of the Santoshpur trio, Lake Pally’s Rajasthani-themed Puja is the most impressive with its emergency solar lights, water coolers, clean toilets, air-conditioned medical room with a nurse, CCTV cameras, wheelchairs et al. The club’s philanthropic activities are spread across the year and it has been supplying jute bags to local shops as part of a campaign to end plastic use. 

True Spirit debutant Harijan Kalyan Sangh (Sarbojanin Durgotsav) might be low on budget but is high on spirit. The involvement of kids in painting the adjoining walls of the pandal is one of the refreshing elements of the celebration. The club has also set up a computer centre for underprivileged children of the neighbourhood. 

Tangra Hari Sabha Math Sarbojanin Durgotsav, another debutant, still has a lot of catching up to do to become a True Spirit contender. 

Rwitoban Deb

KUMARTULI-SOVABAZAR

What north and central Calcutta lack in space, they make up with nostalgia — the perfect ingredient for Durga Puja. But Panchami being a Sunday, the crowds came in early and the pandals on this route fell a little short of the CESC The Telegraph True Spirit norms. 

While most of them have tried to make things comfortable for visitors, Mahallar Sarbojanin has had to work really hard to make up for its space constraint. Being environment-friendly appears to be a priority for most puja committees this year. Plastic has been used only in three pandals, including Jorasanko 7er Palli and Adhibasibrinda.
Adhibasibrinda in Kanai Dhar Lane, a small-budget puja compared to many of its competitors, has made an effort to cling on to childhood that is slowly fading away. The True Spirit veteran has ferriwala items lining the entrance and idols dressed as Barbie dolls. “We gift streetchildren clothes for Puja and raincoats for the monsoon. Last year, we had given away 6,000 pairs of spectacles after an eye check-up camp. A general health camp is also held annually,” said Somnath Biswas, the general secretary of the puja committee.

Another pandal that has got its safety priorities right is Sikdar Bagan Sadharon Durgotsav. The 103-year-old puja with a sun-coated pandal also donates clothes and food to a nearby old-age home. 

Besides giving away clothes to more than 100 underprivileged people on Chaturthi, Sovabazar Beniatola Sarbojanin donates books and other study materials to students of a local school and arranges computer classes at a minimal cost. 

The neighbouring Sovabazar Burtolla Sarbojanin, in its second True Spirit year, was yet to gear up for the rush of pandal-hoppers on Sunday. The puja committee showcased its social work instead. “We donate clothes and saris to underprivileged children and women every year. We also give away blankets to the homeless in winter,” said Sayan Nandi, the secretary of the committee.

A little distance from the two and already a crowd-puller is the Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samity. The colourful pandal made entirely of bamboo had its smoke detectors in place but seemed less than ready for Panchami morning in terms of amenities. The organisers displayed a big heart, though. Ahiritola Sarbojanin is not only supporting a few patients needing routine dialysis but has also donated Rs 5,000 each to some neighbouring low-budget pujas.

Mitra Sanghati recalls the devastation in Nepal caused by the earthquake in April through a demolished, concrete replica of Dharahara. But managing the crowd during any time of the day might cause the committee members some real trouble. 

Putting women at the forefront is Halsibagan Sarbojanin. Women from the neighbourhood particpate in almost every activity related to Puja. And the blood donation camp is an all-women affair.

Trina Chaudhuri

HOWRAH

Pujas in Howrah are strong on themes that are as thought-provoking as they are visually appealing. Hazarhat Kalitala Sadharan Durgotsav beautifully portrays a futuristic world where people try to preserve the last tree, highlighting the evil of deforestation. Sadanandi Smriti Sangha focuses on the perils of drug abuse. 

All the pujas exhibit strong community participation and robust social service platforms but fall short of the True Spirit Puja parameters. Sammilitio Nagarik Brinda, Swadhin Bharat Yuvak Sangha and Nabarun Sangha lack proper fire emergency facilities and functional first-aid booths. The absence of special arrangements for the elderly and people with disabilities is another common drawback.

Some pujas like Ramakrishna Byam Samiti have taken their social service commitment beyond the festive period by distributing cereals among elderly people in the para every Sunday and starting karate training for the young. 
Sadanandi Smriti Sangha has tied up with the Sapna Foundation to provide drug rehabilitation services, proving that its puja theme isn’t for effect.

Konrar Bagan Barwari and Bagbadini Byam Samity are simplistic in terms of look and showcase their cultural activities through glass paintings and drawings by children of the neighbourhood. Kalyan Pally Sarbojonin, a favourite of the judges, is a puja that has provided shelter to six elderly destitutes in the pandal that has been designed like an old-age home. 

“We plan to shift them to a permanent old-age home after this. If we are unable to do that, we will provide them accommodation on the ground floor of our club. All their expenses will be taken care of. We want to reach out to more such people,” club co-ordinator Bijoy Maity said. 

If Kalyan Pally Sarbojonin has shown the way in social service, Ramakrishna Athletic Club, a True Spirit veteran, is easily the most organised. Recycled water bottles have been used to decorate the pandal in keeping with the eco-friendly theme. The electric supply system is well laid-out and the fire-safety measures spot on, including alarms and sprinklers. CCTV cameras are adequate, as are the medical facilities. 

Priyankar Patra