‘Shasthi’: Puja euphoria drowns deluge fear as revellers flock to pandals

Kolkata: After enduring last week’s deluge, Kolkatans turned out in droves on Shasthi, flooding the streets in a festive wave to see the city’s first full display of idols and pandal themes.

From Tala Prattoy and Sreebhumi Sporting Club to Bagbazar Sarbojanin, Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra and Jagat Mukherjee Park, some of the city’s most prominent pujas saw long queues through the evening.

Even office-goers joined in after work, making quick rounds of popular pandals before heading home. Major stretches such as Lake Town to Nagerbazar, dotted with big-ticket pujas, reported massive footfall. Police deployed extra barricades, enforced diversions and reminded organisers about sound limits to keep the flow manageable.

This year, several clubs tried new formats to stand out. Storytelling corners, puppetry

and mime acts turned some pandals into performance spaces, while dazzling light installations gave entire neighbourhoods a festive glow. At Santosh Mitra Square, the “Operation Sindoor” theme attracted crowds and sparked political chatter following a high-profile inauguration.

The city’s expanded Metro network helped visitors cover more ground, making it easier to travel between far-flung pandal clusters within a single evening. On the streets, food vendors selling phuchkas, rolls and sweets did brisk business, feeding revellers as they wove through the crowds.

Recent rains had left some pandals battling waterlogging, but organisers said they managed quick repairs in time. Crowds lined up patiently outside the pandals despite the humid evening. “Once Shasthi comes, the city belongs to Puja,” said a visitor at Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra.

Adding to the excitement was Saturday’s announcement of the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman awards. A total of 113 pujas in Kolkata and surrounding areas were honoured, with 24 named in the coveted “Serar Sera” (Best of the Best) category. These, along with other winners, will feature in the Red Road Carnival on October 5, where tableaux from across the city parade before thousands. With 113 likely participants, this year’s carnival is expected to be bigger than last year, when more than 90 pujas reportedly took part.

As Shasthi drew to a close, the carnival spirit was unmistakable. If the opening night rush is any sign, Kolkata is braced for record-breaking crowds in the days ahead.