Go Pandal Hopping this Durgotsav

If you are keen on celebrity spotting visit the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja in Santacruz. At the puja, you will find members of the Mukherjee family – especially Rani Mukherjee, Kajol and Tanuja- serving bhog. The puja also host performances by some of the well-known Bollywood celebrities.

The Powai Bengali Welfare Association’s Durga Puja pandal is one of the largest pandal in Mumbai attracting over 10 lakh visitors each year. This year the association has come up with an innovative theme replicating Vivekananda Rock Memorial of Kanyakumari spanning over 100 feet high. The pandal will see R D Burman’s original orchestra band team performing live and Gulzar and Asha Bhosale are the expected chief guests.

Though the pandal at Shivaji Park is not that big but it hosts one of the huge food courts. Gorge yourself on hot chicken, mutton, fish chops and curries and of course Bengali sweets. The pandal also performs Dhunuchi dance during the aarti. You can also shop for traditional sarees, jewellery and other funky items from the stalls. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai Police Commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar are expected to visit the pandal.

In the age of Internet and texting, we have almost forgotten the old form snail mail. Not just writing an email, but an actually letter on a postcard. The entire compound has been set by using over 50,000 post cards assembled with the help of Kolkata BPO. the people at the postal department were shocked when we demanded so many postcards, but are happy now about the initiative. The pandal specifies that no postcards have been cut to create his art work.

The iconic yellow Ambassador taxi manufactured by the Hindustan Motors is gradually fading away from Kolkata streets, with modern cars taking over. The fact that the iconic taxi that has thus far defined Kolkata in many ways is slowly heading towards oblivion was enough for this club to dedicate their puja to these cabs.

The Pandal has worked with the theme ‘Hazar Haath’, which portrays the Goddess Durga as has been mentioned in the Chandi Path. The goddess here has 1,000 hands with which to kill 100 asuras. Keeping the mythological text in mind, the decorators have created the idol with as many as 1,000 hands and 100 demon heads that adorn the pandal. Made of fibreglass and not clay, this is going to much more spectacular than last year.

So gear up of Durgostav this year. Hop on a MyChoize Self-Drive car revel in the magic that is Durga Puja!