Top 4 Big Budget Durga Pujas

Life

oi-Anwesha

By Anwesha Barari

Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 12:01

Durga puja starts in just about 5 days and the festive mood is set. It just the right time to take a look at the commercial aspect of the biggest bengoli puja festival celebrated over 5 days of festivities. Once a homely affair when durga protimas were made and worshiped in family courtyards, it is now a grand affair. Money is spent, pomp and show is a must and as you know we Indians love to show off so the splurging has to be explicitly visible. So before we lose ourselves in the splendors of the celebration let us take a look at the top 5 durga pujas that have been traditionally big budget events.

Top 4 Big Budget Durga Pujas:

1. Ekdaliya Evergreen, Kolkata: A total crowd puller of a event that happens in South of Kolkata, near the famous shopping street Gariahat. We won't need exact directions because this famous puja pandal is surrounded by a sprawling fair of eateries and small stores giving it the feel of a country festival. This association has imitated some of the grandest temples in India like the Meenashi temple and their durga idol has always been a standard paragon of beauty. We need not put an exact amount to their budget because it is personally overseen by Public health minister Subroto Mukherjee.

2. Lokhandwala, Mumbai: It so appears that Lokhandwala is not just famous for shootouts of gangsters. It is in fact one of the associations that spends the most on the Bengoli puja of goddess durga. Be it the 20 dhakis (drummers) who are specially brought from rural Bengal or the mega entertainment function that includes all the top ranking Bollywood stars. The fact that this is the event was founded by famous singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya who is quite a colourful character himself gives a certain penchant to it. Estimated damages about 2 crores although it remains undisclosed.

3. Mela Ground, Chittarranjan Park, Delhi: The biggest durga puja in Delhi takes place in an area with the highest concentration of bengolis so no surprises there. This is an association of old Bengoli families settled in Delhi and so you can see a family like close knit unit inspite of the event having grown so big. The estimated cost of this event is above 70 lacs.

4. Mohammad Ali Park, Kolkata: The puja pandal with a social message, that is what this club does. This club that started in 1970 is a traditional heavy weight when it comes to concept pujas. This puja near the Calcutta University on MG Road is a mega event spread across a huge park as the name suggests. They are famous for coming up with themes that give out social messages. They have won awards for portraying concepts of female foetocide and anti corruption campaigns in the past and we can expect something grand from them this year too.

These are only 4 big budget durga pujas but there are many more that await your attention.