Diplomats go pandal-hopping, swept off feet by art, creativity
Times of India | 5 October 2024
Kolkata: It’s like travelling into the world of imagination, said French consul general in Kolkata Didier Talpain while admiring the Durga Puja pandal by Jagat Mukherjee Park Durga Puja Committee, which has themed its decoration on the underwater metro line. Talpain was bowled over by the creativity and art displays at each pandal, portraying a unique theme and with it, “a world of its own”.
The diplomats were visibly impressed by the recreation of the metro stretch, which passes under the Hooghy and connects Esplanade with Howrah Maidan, preseting the infrastructural “wonder”, intertwined with Durga Puja celebration.
Many of the diplomats, out pandal-hopping on Friday, are yet to take a ride on the East-West Metro.
As the diplomats started ‘Puja Parikrama’ from Ahiritola Jubak Brinda, they seemed to make new discoveries at each puja pandal. It was US consul general Kathy Giles-Diaz’s first-time visit to Durga Puja pandals. “It has so much meaning. The creativity and artists and community are coming together to build the pandals. Each pandal is different,” she said.
Every year, foreign diplomats are taken on a Puja Parikrama, usually a day or two before the pandals open their doors to the public. British deputy high commissioner Andrew Fleming said he felt grateful to be taken on a trip to the pandals before they were opened. “I feel privileged that I could visit the pandals with so few people around. I know after Saturday, it’s going to be chaotic. The innovative ideas show how creative the people of Kolkata are,” he said.
They visited Tala Prottoy, Dum Dum Bharat Chakra and Dum Dum Tarun Sangha pujas. They also visited Salt Lake, where they went to the pandals at CD and IB blocks.