There are so many pujas happening in Salt Lake that it's difficult to keep a track of them all. This is when we turn to The Telegraph Salt Lake for help.
The Puja guide, published on October 4 shared the themes, budget and other details of all blocks. It was a great discussion point for my daughter Vedanshi and me. We kept visiting beautiful pandals and ticking off the blocks on The Telegraph Salt Lake (picture right).
We found the idol at IB Block amazing and the concept at AK Block great. Then in the middle of the night we got hungry and went to Blue Tokai for sandwich and black coffee. Other than during the Pujas, we never find these eateries open for midnight or early morning hunger pangs. All these create memories for our children.
Being a mental health worker, I also appreciate the cultural programmes that take place during this festival. Now-a-days kids rarely have siblings but it’s during such events that they leave aside their phones, and happily mingle with other kids.
It takes them out of their comfort zones but teaches them to adjust. Unlike in school, here the participants are of different age groups so the exposure is more varied.
Most of our kids are from English-medium schools but the cultural programmes were all in the vernacular, giving them the opportunity to connect with their mother tongue. Kids don’t retain much if they are told stories from our mythology and culture but if they perform shows related to Durga year after year, they imbibe it automatically.
So even if parents are busy, they should take time out and escort kids to rehearsals and encourage them to participate in such events.
Kakoli Das Mandal,
BL Block
Among the Durga puja pandals I visited this year, my top destinations in Salt Lake were AK Block and BJ Block (apropos the article “Crowd-puller pujas,” published on October 18).
I liked AK Block for beautifully highlighting an environmental cause through its theme and BJ Block had mesmerising idols and fantastic pandal decorations.
Sourish Misra,
Sarat Abasan
Correction
Apropos the article “AK Block ducks carnival call for lack of idol” published on October 18, IB Block celebrated its 38th year of puja this time and Sudipta Mukherjee is the puja co-ordinator and not as mentioned. The errors are regretted.