Durga Puja in NCR: Spotlight on women’s safety & folk art

While most Durga Puja pandals celebrate Bengali folk arts and heritage, some in NCR are embracing the theme of women’s safety to empower our everyday devis.
From B-Block’s Kashi Vishwanath-themed pandal to Mela Ground’s daaker saaj-style idol and alpona motifs adorning the entire Kali Mandir pandal, it’s a celebration of heritage throughout CR Park

Milani Cultural and Welfare Association’s pandal is on the theme of women’s empowerment. “With the artworks, we want to sensitise people towards women’s safety,” says Mrinal Biswas, the association’s president


The pandal set up by Bangiya Parishad resembles Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s Barnaparichay – one of the first comprehensive primers for learning the Bengali language – with the pillars styled like pencils

The Cooperative Ground Durga Puja Samity’s pandal is an ode to gram (rural) Bangla. While the panels celebrate the iconic painter Jamini Roy, haath pankha, gamcha and Bengali handicraft items add a rustic note to the decor, shares Saurav Chakraborty from the samity

The Kalighat-style patachitra art adorning the ceiling of the Durgotsab GK 2 pandal is created like a visual sankirtan.

A black and white sketch of the workers who built the Durgotsab GK 2 pandal, by artist Nilanjan, welcomes the visitors

Navapalli Puja Samity at Pocket 40, CR Park, is celebrating traditional folk art from four regions of Bengal – Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia and Midnapur – known for being rich in red soil. With gamcha adorning the ceiling, the walls and panels showcase the rural heritage of the Rahr Bangla areas of Bengal.

With the theme ‘Abandoned Mothers’, the Arambagh Puja Samiti pandal highlights the hardships faced by widows left to navigate life on their own

The Matri Mandir pandal offers a captivating journey into the heart of gram Bangla with vibrant Bengali artwork on display across the alleys and panels

At Jalvayu Vihar Sanskritik Kalyan Samity’s pandal in Sector 21, artists from Bengal have created a Bonedi Bari, with green wooden windows and cross beams on the ceiling. The pandal’s panels have been adorned with paintings celebrating dhunuchi naach

The theme at the 16th edition of Balaka Durgotsav in Sector 61 Noida is ‘Temple of Peace and Harmony’. The off-white and gold pandal has been adorned with intricate cut-outs of doves

Alpona on the street leads visitors to the Noida Sector 137 Sarbojanin Pujo Samiti’s pandal, which is adorned with multiple handpainted kulos – a hand-woven sieve made using bamboo or cane, commonly used in Bengali households

Drawing inspiration for Sonnar Kella (1974), DLF Phase IV's DCDP Bengali Cultural Society celebrates Satyajit Ray's cinema and the legacy of the Ray family - Upendra Kishor, Sukumar and Satyajit Ray. The pandal's facade resembles the golden fortress as seen in the film Sonnar Kella

Mayur Vihar Phase 3's pandal resembles the Sun Temple of Konark

Pics: Ajay Kumar Gautam, Ranjit Kumar, Lokesh Kashyap, Nishad Alam