No shops, only devotion

Commercialisation and popular music takes a backseat to a family-like atmosphere at the Bichakshana Durgotsav puja pandal in the city

Commercialisation and popular music takes a backseat to a family-like atmosphere at the Bichakshana Durgotsav puja pandal in the city

Forget the usual commercialised Durgotsav gatherings. At the Bichakshana Durgotsav, total devotion is the constant refrain. There are no commercial stalls and no popular music. Only the traditional dhak (drum) is permitted at this pandal, nestled in the far end of the Shiva temple at National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM).

At this pandal, members organise everything themselves. As Sayanda Ghosh, an IT professional put it, "It's like a family gathering. Everyone here has been toiling over the decorations for the last one month. Every sequin, every gold embellishment was scrutinised and unless it was perfect, it was rejected."

Early days
The Bichakshana Durgotsav was started by Jayanta Chakraborty after he saw Goddess Durga in his dream. Said Chakraborty, "Ma Durga asked me if I knew her other names. One of them is Bichkshana." So when he moved to the city in 2004, he started this Durga Puja at Daruwalla hall in NIBM (which is now RIMS International School) with help from his wife Lolita and two children. Two years later, the puja shifted to the Shiva temple and more members joined in.

Yet, there is a feeling of belonging to one family. Said member Dr N Banerjee, "We are a family and we do all the jobs ourselves from getting the grocery to planning the du00e9cor and distributing bhog." Added engineer Debashish Mazumdar, "I walked in here last year and have been totally involved since then."

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