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Durga Puja is incomplete without the phrase ‘Pujo Asche’ (Durga Puja is coming). The pre-Durga Puja season is all about the excitement that every Bengali feels about Maa Durga’s arrival on Earth with her four children. We resonate to the fact that “⁠Pujo ashche etai anondo, ashle e chole jabe” (The joy lies in Pujo’s arrival, because once it comes, it will soon be gone). Thus, the countdown begins a month prior to the actual festivity, when Kolkata itself transforms into something magical, buzzing with energy, joy and madness. Honestly, Bengalis wait for Pujo more eagerly than birthdays. At least, this is the case for me, especially when I am so far away from home when Durga Puja is just around the corner.

Kolkata Durga Puja Before The Festival: Atmosphere

There’s something surreal about how the atmosphere changes when Durga Puja approaches. Bengalis worship Maa Durga not as mother but as a daughter who comes to her maternal house after a year. Shorot kal arrives a month before, with the sky turning softer blue, clouds floating lazily, shuili flowers dropping like little blessings at dawn and the once-empty fields suddenly light up with swaying kash phool - all indicating that Pujo is here.

The air smells different, too. The shuili flowers emitting their sweet, ethereal fragrance mixed with the smell of sandalwood incense, dhuno smoke and the crisp scent of freshly bought new clothes.

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Every corner hums with life - the clanging of bamboo as pandals rise, hawkers shouting in Gariahat, traffic piling up near New Market and the classic mic-testing before the old Bengali songs kick in. Even the neighbourhoods come alive with chanda collections by the youngsters and fresh street alpona patterns to welcome Durga Maa.

Pre Durga Puja Craze I Miss Being Away From Kolkata

Pre-Durga Puja Craze, I Miss Being Away From Kolkata (Image Credits: The Daily Jagran)

Missing Kolkata Pre-Durga Puja: Nostalgia And Memories

In Kolkata, Durga Puja is a season of life itself. The streets change their character. The phuchkawalas earn their happiest incomes of the year and the Gariahat saree sellers stay open till midnight, proudly showing off new collections, only to make women feel and look best during the festivities.

For me, the pre-Pujo magic has always been about Kumortuli. During my childhood, Baba would take me there and I would stand wide-eyed, watching the idol makers slowly turning the clay into the face of Durga with dedication and devotion, as if they were crafting the goddess like their own daughter.

Traditional Kolkata Shopping During Pre-Durga Puja

Pre-pujo shopping at Gariahat or New Market isn’t for the faint-hearted. Sure, Gen Z loves the fancy exhibitions, but let’s be honest, pujo shopping feels incomplete without the madness of these OG streets. Negotiating and bargaining with patience after digging through endless piles of clothes, shoes and accessories demands a different level of patience. Then wait for the shopkeeper to finally cave in with “chharo na, dada, onek daam bolcho” (Dada, you’re asking for too much money) and boom, the price drops.

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Just when the blisters start to burn and legs begin to give up, the delicious rolls from Bedouin or biryani from Zam Zam arrive to save the day. Pujo shopping is messy and exhausting yet magical - you won’t feel it until you live it.

Pre-Durga Puja Traditions In Kolkata

Pre-pujo traditions are a little different in Kolkata. It starts with presenting gifts to the elderly first and then to subsequent generations. And then comes the adda. Long chats with friends, planning pujo parikrama routes. These adda sessions are filled with laughter, excitement and endless debates. And the best part? They include everyone from age 15 to 55, who get equally charged up to make plans for Durga Pujo weeks in advance.

Durga Puja away from Kolkata does feel the same. I miss the buzz in the streets, the soundscape of the dhaak, the kasor ghanta, the sankha, the chaos of last-minute shopping, the silly pujo prem and the joy of ‘pait pujo’. Yes, CR Park in Delhi is vibrant, but unless you’ve felt Kolkata’s collective excitement, you don’t know what Pujo truly is.