{"id":41086,"date":"2025-09-16T15:50:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/chaltabagan-durga-puja-theme-to-highlight-the-old-world-charm-of-north-kolkata\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T15:50:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T10:20:04","slug":"chaltabagan-durga-puja-theme-to-highlight-the-old-world-charm-of-north-kolkata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/chaltabagan-durga-puja-theme-to-highlight-the-old-world-charm-of-north-kolkata\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaltabagan Durga Puja theme to highlight the \u2018old world charm\u2019 of North Kolkata"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 16: <\/strong>Chaltabagan Durga Puja, which was started in\u00a01943, will highlight the spirit of the fading old world charm of north Kolkata culture through its theme `Mool\u2019 or roots. This year\u2019s theme alludes to the adverse onslaught of modernity and gentrification on the para (community) culture of north Kolkata.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the UNESCO heritage tag, Durga Pujas themes send out a very strong global message. Manicktala Chaltaban Durga Puja has been a pioneer and a trendsetter in innovating Puja themes and events. This year\u2019s theme, `Mool\u2019, is an attempt to highlight the rapidly fading north Kolkata culture through artistic expression. It is a call to go back to our roots and introspect,\u201d said Sundeep Bhutoria, Chairman, Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo walk from Shyambazar to Shobhabazar through the narrow, winding lanes of North Kolkata is to traverse more than mere geography. It is a journey through the city\u2019s soul \u2013 a living archive. Gentrification is altering the streetscape. Heritage buildings \u2013 old havelis and colonial mansions \u2013 are being restored, but not as homes. They are repurposed into boutique hotels, chic art caf\u00e9s, and cultural hubs aimed at a new class. Traditional tea stalls and age-old bakeries now share space with trendy cafes; vibrant murals cover once-faded walls. While these changes bring a new vibrancy, they come at a cost,\u201d said Mr Bhutoria.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe balconies and verandahs were not just architecture; they were poignant symbols \u2013 the heart of the \u201crowak adda\u201d culture \u2013 the vibrant, informal conversations that forged community bonds. The role of historic cultural practices is eroding as new buildings replace old houses, reducing the communal spaces for the informal interactions that once defined the neighbourhood\u2019s spirit,\u201d he lamented.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja, universally known as the Chaltabagan Durga Puja, was started in\u00a01943\u00a0in the Manicktala area of North Kolkata by a group of local young enthusiasts and businessmen.<\/strong>\u00a0The area was historically known as\u00a0\u201cLohapatty\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(literally meaning \u201ciron scrap neighbourhood\u201d) due to the numerous scrap iron merchants and workshops located there.<\/p>\n

The 1970s marked a dramatic turning point for Chaltabagan, transforming it from a local puja to a city-wide sensation. In 1976, for the first time under Probir Ganguly\u2019s leadership, Chaltabagan pioneered the concept of the\u00a0\u201ctheme puja\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in its modern, spectacular form. That year, they created a pandal replicating the famous\u00a0\u201cJagannath Temple of Puri\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in Odisha. This was a revolutionary step and a trendsetter. The intricacy, scale, and authenticity of the replication were unheard of at the time. It drew massive crowds from all over Kolkata and set a new benchmark for Puja pandals. This move is often credited with starting the trend of extravagant, theme-based pandals that define Kolkata\u2019s Puja today.<\/p>\n

After the success of 1976, Chaltabagan became synonymous with innovation and grandeur. Year after year, the committee tried to outdo itself. They replicated famous temples from across India, such as the\u00a0Dilwara Jain Temple (1981)<\/strong>,\u00a0Meenakshi Temple (1984)<\/strong>, and\u00a0Golden Temple (1985)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Later, they expanded their themes to include historical monuments and global wonders, like a\u00a0Mughal Fort<\/strong>\u00a0and even a massive, breathtaking\u00a0Recreation of the Swiss Alps (1990),<\/strong>\u00a0complete with artificial snow, which became the stuff of legend.<\/p>\n

The committee began collaborating with renowned artists and artisans from across Bengal and India, further elevating the artistic quality of their idols and pandals. Chaltabagan Durga Puja can also be credited for starting curated events around Durga Puja, like the dhak utsav, khuti puja, sindoor khela and puja parikrama for the elders. All these trends have been widely embraced by various puja committees in the state and have become an intrinsic part of the puja festivities.<\/p>\n

The Puja became a mandatory destination for Kolkatans and tourists during the festival. The long, snaking queues to get a glimpse of the Chaltabagan pandal became an integral part of the Puja experience.<\/p>\n

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Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 16: Chaltabagan Durga Puja, which was started in\u00a01943, will highlight the spirit of the fading old world charm of north Kolkata culture through its theme `Mool\u2019 or roots. This year\u2019s theme alludes to the adverse onslaught of modernity and gentrification on the para (community) culture of north Kolkata. \u201cWith the…<\/p>\n

Read More “Chaltabagan Durga Puja theme to highlight the \u2018old world charm\u2019 of North Kolkata”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[634],"class_list":["post-41086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}