The conch shell sounds return in Durga Puja in Visakhapatnam this festive season

After a quiet year, festivities in Visakhapatnam this season have moved to hotels, closed gatherings and small-scale community celebrations

October 13, 2021 06:43 pm | Updated October 20, 2021 12:40 pm IST

VISAKHAPATNAM , ANDHRA PRADESH : 11/10/2021 : Visitors offering prayers at the Waltair Kali Bari as Bengali Durga Puja festivities begin in Visakhapatnam on Monday, Oct 11, 2021. Photo : K.R. DEEPAK / The Hindu

VISAKHAPATNAM , ANDHRA PRADESH : 11/10/2021 : Visitors offering prayers at the Waltair Kali Bari as Bengali Durga Puja festivities begin in Visakhapatnam on Monday, Oct 11, 2021. Photo : K.R. DEEPAK / The Hindu

The sound of conch shells fills the air at Waltair Kali Bari in Visakhapatnam. At One Town, where the city’s oldest Durga Puja celebration is held every year in SP Naidu Memorial Hall, the mood is upbeat.

Back in the make-shift workshop of the Bengali artisans at One Town, there is a sense of relief, with the city administration giving a nod to celebrate Dasara this year. “We wil be returning back on Dashami with a contented feeling this year. We could sell about 50 idols, which is almost double of what we did last year,” says B.Pal, an artisan from West Bengal. An air of cautious positivity pervades across the market ahead of Dasara or Durga Puja.

After a quiet year of at-home celebrations, festivities this season have moved to hotels, closed gatherings and small-scale community celebrations. Gated communities in the city are hosting Navratri celebrations within their society to foster a sense of togetherness.

“People have remained isolated through the major part of the year. It can be a depressing feeling during festivals, especially for nuclear families. We are getting together within our society at Gadiraju Empire to have a dandiya programme for the families this Navratri at the conference hall,” says Priti Patil, a resident of the society at MVP Colony where over 100 families reside. They also held a dandiya workshop for a small group ahead of the festival. Ït felt like we are meeting our neighbours after a very long time. Many of us met after nearly a year and that was so special for us,” says Priti.

At MK Gold at Yendada, the festive mood is visible as women and children of the society get together to celebrate Navratri. “We keeping in mind all necessary precautions and allowing only residents to participate,” says K Lakshmi of MK Gold. The celebrations began with visiting each other and then culminated in a small get-together at the common area in the society. “

Housing societies aside, the Waltair Kali Bari has opened its gates for limited number of visitors at a time, to offer pushpanjali . “All rituals are being followed as per our traditions. But we are ensuring people don’t get carried away and flout the safety rules. We usually have a footfall of 7,000 to 8,000 people each day. The fact that people can come and offer pushpanjali itself is a big deal for us. It feels like pujo again after a year of being at home,” says B C Burman, secretary of Waltair Kali Bari Durga Puja Committee.

For many, the festivities remain emotionally significant. The Durga Puja celebrations of AMCOSA near Zilla Parishad Junction will be missing for the second consecutive year, since it is held in a closed, air-conditioned venue.

“The festival is more than just rituals for us. It is like a big family getting together. This year too we will be missing it, but we are planning to have a small get-together at home where we can recreate the feeling of having bhog prasad and adda during Durga Puja,” says Barnalee Dutta, who has been closely associated with the AMCOSA Durga Puja celebrations.

At the Ukkunagaram Durga Puja Committee that hosts over 200 Bengali families every year, the addas and stalls are missing. “We are just thankful that we could celebrate the 38th Durga Puja celebrations at Steel Plant Kali Bari even if it means to simply come in small groups and offer prayers. The past year has been a challenging one, but it has made us realise the little joys of life. For us, though there is no grand celebrations of pujo, we are happy to host it in a modest way,” says Anindo Pal, member of the committee.

Festive delicacies

Hotels in the city are going big with Navratri and Durga Puja thalis. At Radisson Blu, flavours of Bengal, Rajasthan and Gujarat will be served up at curated ‘Akaal Bodhan’ menus for lunch and dinner.

Executive chef Sammya Majumdar and his team are dishing out three types of thalis (two vegetarian and one non-vegetarian).

The vegetarian thalis are of two kinds — Bengali and Marwari/Gujarati thali; while the non-vegetarian thali has the specialties of Bengal.

WelcomHotel GrandBay is hosting a Sattvik 9Ratri concept during the festive season at its Welcomcafe Oceanic restaurant for lunch and dinner. “Many people strictly follow some rules in their culinary preparations during this fasting period and we have dished out the menu keeping this in mind,” says the hotel’s executive chef Jayesh Karande.

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