Durga Puja 2022 Kolkata: Lights are up, dhanuchis are ready, attires are decided, Maa Durga has arrived. With the onset of festival season, the country is splashed with colours of happiness, dance and fervour. The city is joy is rejoicing on the arrival of Goddess Durga and people have begun flocking unique themed pandals starting today. Maha Shashthi or the sixth day of navratris marks the puja installations being open for devotees.Also Read – Durga Puja 2022: Into The Metaverse! This Season Enjoy Pandal Hopping Virtually At THESE Places | How, Where & When
After a toned down celebrations for two years due to COVID, this year Kolkata is witnessing a grand spectacle of festivities. Innovative themed pandals sprout in the city and people go gaga over the food and carnival like fiesta. But, navigating your way through the crowded spaces can be little itchy –from catching the right bus to picking the best time to visit a pandal. Here a few trends to hop on to have a smoothe and enthralling time.
Durga Puja Guide Map 2022.
Download here: https://t.co/TLctYGG6RA pic.twitter.com/v2QXzrHCND— DCP Traffic Kolkata (@KPTrafficDept) September 24, 2022
Utsab App –  City police is all set to launch Utsab App with which people will be able to watch over 60 most famous pandals. There will be other features as well that people can access on their smartphones. This application aims to facilitate easy movement and navigation to varied pandals.
 FEATURES:
- People will be able to watch more than 60 most popular pandals in the city.
- Live feeds for the pandal fervor is likely to be arranged. There will also be a detailed plan for public use.
- Playstore or apple store? Both! It will be developed for both android and iOS users.
- It will allow location based search of nearby pandals, but people will also be allowed to globally search for pandals just by typing in either area, location, zone or the name.
- Reportedly, 360 degree view, photos and videos for about 60 pandals will be furnished by the sap developer.
- Information on police assistant booths, restaurants medical shops, petrol pumps, hospitals, pay and use toilets will also be available.
- There will be helplines numbers for police control room, traffic control room too.
Double Decker Special Durga Puja Bus To Explore the City of Joy this Season (Image: West Bengal Tourism Twitter)
Double Decker Buses –Explore the city of joy by travelling in the Durga Puja special deouble decker buses. These buses will run on the designated route, which begins at Cathedral Road (near Rabindra Sadan) and proceeds to Victoria Memorial- Prinsep Ghat- St. Johns’ Church- Dacres lane- Jorasanko-Thakurbari gate at C.R Avenue. The fixed ticket price is Rs. 50/- per person and is valid for one complete itinerary/journey. Tickets will be available on spot.
Meta Pujo – Not In Kolkata folks attention! When the world is translating to virtual reality, festivals are not behind.In afirst, Durga Puja will now be conducted on metaverse too! People from across the globe will be able to enter the metaverse from alink provided by the pandal, don an avatr and enjoy 3D view of some of these unique pandals. The facility is available for the following pandals
- Ahiritola Sarbajanin
- Deshapriya Park
- Tala Prattoy
- Ballygunge Cultural
PANDAL HOPPING
Starting from morning till post midnight, visiting pandals everyday of the Durga Puja in new outfits is a thrilling experience in itself. People plan multiple trips with different groups of their loved ones. From hogging on authentic Bengali cuisine, to street food, a full day three course meal can be satiated while visiting different pandals. Here are some of the most trending and uniquely themed pandals in Kolkata that you must hop to.
Vatican City themes Pandal Kolkata (ANI)
Vatican City Pandal, Shree Bhumi Sporting Club, Kolkata- Shree Bhoomi Sporting Club, which enthrals the audience with its theme every year, has set the theme of the Pooja Pandal as Vatican City’s St. Peters Basilica this year. This year also marks their golden jubilee celebration. They are also celebrating the 50 years of Sri Bhoomi Sporting Club located at Bidhannar Kolkata.
Red Fort Themed Pandal, Kolkata (PTI)
Red Fort Pandal, Santosh Mitra Square Kolkata : Here, the committee has taken creativity to new heights by making a replica of the Red Fort in Delhi. With beautiful lights, the pandal is a treat to the eyes.
Coins Pandal, Babubagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Puja: Located in Garia, South Kolkata, this pandal is decked with coins that have been issued for circulation since India’s indpendence. In keeping with the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Babubagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Puja pandal at the Dhakuria in South Kolkata has come with a unique pandal which is made of thousands of commemorative coins issued since independence. The theme of this year’s Durga Puja pandal is “Maa Tujhe Salaam”.
Lord’s Cricket Ground, Kolkata :  A replica of the Lord’s Cricket Ground pavilion of London ahead of ‘Durga Puja’ fetival celebrations in Kolkata. Located in Mitali Sangha community pandal in Garia Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly relived one of his career-defining moments on top of the Lord’s balcony -but this time in India on a replica
While these are just a few to name, Kolkata is brimming with a fine balance of ingenious as well as traditional pandals with gorgeous idols of Goddess Durga.
Happy Durga Puja! Let us know yuor favourite pandal this year in comments!