Click to play videoKolkata: Nine-year-old Ritu holds her grandfather's hands as he helps her acquaint herself with her roots.
Ritu, whose parents live in the US, is in Kolkata with her grandfather for the Durga Puja celebrations.
Her parents live in the US and Ritu's grandfather takes her to a pandal in Dum Dum Park which is made from blue tiles brought all the way from the pink city in keeping with the theme the organizers have chosen - Rajasthan's blue pottery.
“I really like this one. It’s different,” says Ritu.
The mantra for organizers is to be different. So you have blue pottery from Rajasthan and one is even made from clay to recreate a Santhal village.
One of the pandals attempts to go back to nature to the Khowai region of Santiniketan. Red clay is used and the Goddess is in a new avatar.
Organisers have come up with the most creative designs to bag the prestigious Sharad Samman Award for the best pandal. But is theme the only deciding criteria to win this honour?
“The theme has to be implemented across the board. It also has to be environmentally friendly,” says Judge, Best Puja Award, Biswajit Mandal.
Bosepukur in Kasba has been getting the trick to winning awards right. This year they are depicting Durga as the Goddess of power. For some visitors the symbolism maybe a tad difficult to decipher. But that hardly matters as long as the pandal is visually appealing.
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