10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja in 2016

Over the years Kolkata Durga Puja has evolved as an excellent display of installation art that I can never have enough of. Its not about religious fervor any longer but of homecoming, celebration of creativity the energy and talent for which flows from the supreme. I have been following this ritual for many years but started documenting the beauty of the art on display for those 5 days. Like every year, I visited close to a 100 pandals over 4 days across the city and marvelled at the way the themes took shape and the representation of ideas. It was no mean task to choose my 10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016 but it is just a memory for the future.

The City appeared like an Art Gallery in 2013 and there on in 2014 I identified 25 Best Durga Pujas in my eyes from what I had seen. I followed up to list down the unmissable 25 Kolkata Durga Puja in 2015 but in 2016 have decided to stick to just 10 since almost everything beyond that was good and it would not be fair on my part to favor one over the other.

I would like to give a standing ovation to Ultadanga Pallysree for choosing a theme that allowed them to paint the neighbouring buildings in bright colors. If every pandal chose to take the initiative of brightening the space around perhaps Kolkata would get a beautiful face lift.

In 2017, Durga Puja will be held between 26th September to 30th September.

Check the Best of 2017 here.

10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja Pandals in 2016

Ultadanga Pallysree – North Kolkata – Colorful art, painted buildings in lane

66 Pally – South Kolkata – Sepia Representation of Kolkata10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016 -66 Pally

Tridhara – South Kolkata – Representation of Tribal Lifestyle10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016-Tridhara

Abasar – South Kolkata – Fairy Land with net and paper art10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016 - Abasar

Uday Sangha – South Kolkata – Terracotta and Kantha Craft10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016 - Uday Sangha

Suruchi Sangha – South Kolkata – Bhutan Pagoda and Culture10 Best Kolkata Durga Puja 2016 - Sreebhumi

Jodhpur Park – South Kolkata – Rural Bengal (Kumor Pardar Gorur Gadi)

Bharat Chakra – North Kolkata – Dogra Art

Telengabagan – North Kolkata – Installation art from Dhaka

Nabin Pally – North Kolkata – Kabad Art from Rajasthan

10 Favourite Kolkata Durga Puja Idols in 2016

If I look at it spiritually or through the looking glass of religion then I am in no position to prefer one form of the Goddess over another. When I look at it as an art form, a representation of one person’s interpretation of the many moods of the mother goddess; it becomes easier to prefer a few over the others. It was a very difficult choice to select these since I liked almost all of them. However, these unique presentations of the goddess drawing images of a woman from different walks of life and through the ages left a special impression on my mind. The truth is she is the all powerful ageless one who steers me through my life.

Thakurpukur State Bank Park where Durga is an everyday working class womanBhowanipur Uday Sangha where Durga is how I have always known her to be 

Behala Barisha Durga is young, calm but with a firm resolve

Durga in Kashi Bose Lane had a very heartwarming charm about her 

When I saw Durga in Behala Friends she appeared like an indulgent teacher

The Durga Idol of 75 Pally in Bhowanipore was an image of girl next door

When I saw Durga in 41 Pally in Haridebpur, she was the young one dressed impeccably with fire in her eyes that could change the world

The idol in Milan Sangha was of a quiet peaceful mother straight out of the literature books who has the power to induce calm

I fell in love with the meditative Durga in Hindustan Park

Durga was an image of beauty, calm, strength, peace, happiness and everything she stands for while she was being worshiped in Behala Notun Dal

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