Durga Puja 2018: Bollywood blockbuster 'Padmaavat' among puja themes

Representational image

Durga Puja is just around the corner and the entire city of Kolkata is gearing up to celebrate its favourite festival. Thousands from across the city visit various pandals to witness the lighting spectacle and unique themes and this year two prominent puja committees have planned loneliness of the elderly and setting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed film 'Padmaavat' as the theme of their pandals.

In another puja, the organisers plan to draw crowds by creating a chariot made of 20 tonnes of silver. 'Shikorer Tane'(The Call of the Roots) is the theme of Shibmandiar Puja Committee that would focus on the plight of the elderly people whose children have left them for greener pasture, Partha Ghosh, one of the organisers of the south Kolkata puja told PTI.

"We have seen how the elderly lead a lonely life after their children leave them behind and settle outside the city or the country. These people don't have anyone to look after them," Ghosh said. Organisers of the renowned Sreebhumi Sporting Club of Kolkata, famous for creating spectacular theme-based pandals over the years, have decided to have period film Padmaavat as theme for its Durga puja pandal in 2018

"We will recreate the Chittorgarh Fort, the setting of the film, and the ambience," Sujit Bose said on behalf of the puja committee. He said the models inside the pandal will don the costumes worn by the characters of the film. The organisers will hire expertise from Chandernagore for lighting and illumination, to create the dazzling ambience

The puja at Santosh Mitra Square in the central part of the city, the organisers plan to construct a chariot made of 20 tonnes of silver to draw the crowd. The chariot will be 60 feet high and 40 feet wide, puja committee president Pradip Ghosh hopes that it will be the USP to draw crowds to the pandal during the five-day festivities.

"The chariot, equal to a middle-sized apartment building, will have intricate silver artwork on its inside and outside walls," Ghosh said. The silver work is being done by a reputed city-based jewellery brand. The four-day Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal, will start on October 15 and conclude with Vijaya Dashami on October 19

(with inputs from PTI)

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates