The pandal hoppers of Kolkata

Pandal hopping is a relatively new concept that has begun a couple of decades back in Kolkata. Given the number of Durga Pujas held in only Kolkata and the desire of people to go and have a look at the latest artistic features and designs of the idols and the pandals, a new breed of enthusiasts have come up. These are the pandal hoppers who form groups and hop from one pandal to another to catch the excitement.
This activity begins from the Mahalaya when some important pandals carry out inauguration through celebrities who range from local politicians to stalwarts of the literary fields or the silver screens and, in some cases, sports persons. Then there are the mandatory judges who are roped in to assign marks to the top Puja pandals – the criterion for assigning marks could be the decorations, the uniqueness of the idols, and the special emphasis on environment or social messages and agendas.

Once the awards like ‘Super Star’, ‘Mega Star’ etcetera are announced, the crowds begin to pour in and, the more the footfalls, the more is happiness all around because the sponsors rake in the moolah and the organizers are assured of continued patronage from big names.
Due to the huge crowds milling around the venues, those who use vehicles have to park the same a distance away and have to walk. These groups could be people of the same family or group of friends. And, since the attraction of the pandals is not only the decorations but also the display of colored lights, the hoppers must select darkness. That they do by timing their hopping late in the night – when the venues are less crowded and restriction on parking of vehicles is not there.
Needless to say, those who opt for late night hopping are a boisterous lot – they want to enjoy and leave no stone unturned to make the hopping a memorable one. With four nights at their disposal, they draw up their plans on which area to visit when. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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