Top 10 Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata 2023: As monsoon begins to recede, Kolkata comes undone to the autumnal hues of the month of Ashwin (seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar). Like a flower, the city opens itself to the possibilities of art. Nights are charged with the perfume of shiuli (night flowering jasmine) and at dawn on Mahalaya (held seven days prior to the puja festivities), playwright Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s profound invocation to the goddess rides the wind. This marks the onset of Durga Puja, a festival that Bengal eagerly looks forward to. Over the years Durga Puja has grown to epic proportions with its pandals being nothing short of ornate installations of art.
In 2021, UNESCO declared the festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The tradition of Durga Puja originated roughly around the 16th century, held by zamindar (land owning gentry) families in colonial Calcutta. Over the years, the puja and puja parikrama (activities) have given the city not only deep creative currents but also new syllables that spell inclusion, festivity and joie de vivre.
According to an MoU signed between the government of West Bengal and British Council in 2019, the creative industries around Durga Puja in West Bengal was estimated to be at ₹32,377 crore which is the size of the economy of many smaller countries across the world. The weeklong festival accounts for 2.58% of the state’s GDP said the report.
Top 10 Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata 2023
Kolkata, often referred to as the City of Joy, is abuzz with excitement as it prepares for the grandest celebration of the year, Durga Puja.
The biggest festival in West Bengal, Durga Puja, is almost here, and people are very enthusiastic as the dates approach. Kolkata is getting ready with beautifully decorated tents, each with its own special theme. Workers are putting in the final details on idols and these tents.
Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated in September or October, most notably in Kolkata, in West Bengal of India, but also in other parts of India and amongst the Bengali diaspora. It marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga. In the months preceding the festival, small artisanal workshops sculpt images of Durga and her family using unfired clay pulled from the Ganga River. The worship of the goddess then begins on the inaugural day of Mahalaya, when eyes are painted onto the clay images to bring the goddess to life.
It ends on the tenth day, when the images are immersed in the river from where the clay came. Thus, the festival has also come to signify ‘home-coming’ or a seasonal return to one’s roots. Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers. The festival is characterized by large-scale installations and pavilions in urban areas, as well as by traditional Bengali drumming and veneration of the goddess. During the event, the divides of class, religion and ethnicities collapse as crowds of spectators walk around to admire the installations.
| Durga Puja Dates 2023: Calendar and Schedule | ||
| Important Occasions | Date | Day |
| Maha Panchami | 19-Oct-23 | Thursday |
| Maha Sasthi | 20-Oct-23 | Friday |
| Maha Saptami | 21-Oct-23 | Saturday |
| Maha Ashtami | 22-Oct-23 | Sunday |
| Maha Nabami | 23-Oct-23 | Monday |
| Bijaya Dashami | 24-Oct-23 | Tuesday |
Let us have a look at 10 top Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata 2023
Out of 36,946 Durga Puja held in West Bengal by different communities, 2500 are held in Kolkata alone.
North Kolkata
1. Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, Lake Town: Theme-Paris Disneyland
Situated in the heart of Lake Town, South Dumdum, Sreebhumi Sporting Club is among the city’s finest when it comes to its larger-than-life Durga Puja themes. In 2021, it put together a towering Burj Khalifa pandal, and in 2022, it replicated the Vatican City. This year, the theme is based on one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions—Disneyland Paris. The brainchild of artists Romeo Hazra and Sandip Hazra, the pandal features 11 towers in pink, white, and lavender, with two chariots and 10 Disney characters. Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho is set to inaugurate the pandal.
2. Santosh Mitra Square: Theme-Ayodhya Ram Mandir
3. College Square Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-Mysore Palace
4. Pallir Yubak Brinda Durga Puja Pandal, Central Kolkata: Chadrayaan-3 (Theme: Vikram lander (ISRO’s achievement with Chandrayaan-3)
India scripted history on 23 August with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission, leading India to become the first nation to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole. To celebrate this monumental event, the Pallir Yubak Brinda Club, located at the junction of Sitaram Ghosh Street, Nabin Chandra Paul Lane and Beniatola Lane in Central Kolkata, has replicated India’s successful moon mission with the theme ‘Chandralok-e Uma’ (Goddess Durga on the Moon).
According to PTI, the Goddess will be seen standing inside the Vikram lander, and once visitors enter the main ‘mandap’, they will (with the help of visual effects) be able to see the landing of Vikram on one side, and the earth’s view from the moon on the other. The model of the rover Pragyan will also be placed beside Vikram.
5. Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsab Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-Gujarat’s Somnath temple
South Kolkata
1. Naktala Udayan Sangha Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-Anti-ragging
Durga Puja is the biggest festival in the Bengali community. During the festival, Kolkata and the entire West Bengal deck up with bright lights and smiles. Every year, several Durga Puja pandals adopt various themes to attract visitors and also to send a social message. This year, ragging has become a popular topic of social message among the festival organisers.
Why the theme of ragging?
In August 2023, Kolkata and the rest of Bengal woke to the horror of a student’s death. Swapnadip Kundu, a first-year student at Jadavpur University, died after he was reportedly ragged for around 2 hours. The gruesome death shocked everyone and brought to the fore the menace of ragging and how it should be uprooted from educational institutions for the safety of the students.
According to the police, Swapnadip was tortured by the senior students in the hostel and he was thrown on the ground from the hostel building in front of A2 Block inside the Main Hostel campus of Jadavpur University. That is why, on this Durga Puja, several communities are taking up ragging as the theme in the presence of Maa Durga.
Among the pandals, in south Kolkata, Naktala Udayan Sangha will theme its pandal on the evils of ragging and how it can be eliminated from society. According to reports, they will uphold the message of eradicating ragging and bullying from all educational institutions.
Most importantly, an umbrella association of Durga Puja committees has requested its members to put up anti-ragging posters in its pandals during the festival in October this year. It has asked the Puja committees to put up anti-ragging posters which will highlight why it is wrong and will also have the state government’s helpline number (1800-345-5678) against ragging.
2. Mudiali Club Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-All metal, no fabric
3. Ekdalia Evergreen Club Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-Jain Temple, Maharashtra
4. Singhi Park Durga Puja Pandal: Theme-Rajasthan puppet dance
5. Babubagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja Pandal: Museum of Jodhpur
Interested to read more articles about Navratri 2023, Durga Puja, Dusshera, Vijaya Dashami! Visit read4knowledge HERE.