There were at least three puja pandals built on the Chandrayaan-3 theme this year. Here’s what each of them did.
DB Block, New Town
New Town DB Block had made a 55ft tall spacecraft and a smoke machine produced smoke underneath to signal its launch. The pandal’s entrance and exit were located on the sides behind the structure and inside, the light and sound mimicked outer space, the walls had images from the first two Chandrayaan missions, and a 15x15ft screen mounted 30 feet high on the ceiling streamed footage of Vikram’s landing, ISRO scientists at work etc.
The puja, held on the ground opposite The Newtown School, was a hit with visitors. “I am awestruck! This is one of the best pandals I’ve visited so far. I remember watching the landing on the moon with my friends a couple of months ago. It was a moment of pride”, said Srestha Talukdar, a student of Class X who aspires to become a space scientist herself.
“Through the theme of our puja, we tried to pay tribute to the scientists who worked day and night to make this mission successful and make our country proud,” said Pinaki Chatterjee, general secretary, DB Block.
AE Block, New Town
New Town’s AE Block had built the rocket outside their pandal too and the idols appeared to be glowing in moonlight silver.
The idol at AE Block, New Town. Srijita Talukdar
“The idol is sculpted by Ayan Dutta of Kumartuli and the pandal is by Super Decorators of Lauhati, who have truly lived up to their name,” said secretary of the puja committee, Surajit Chanda.
“This year is a milestone for AE Block as it marks the fifth year of our Durga puja celebrations. We went for a theme for the first time and are grateful to the 1,000-odd families in our block for their support,” said puja committee president Narendra Roy.
This puja was opposite the business club. “The pandal has become the fulcrum of our schedules during the puja days,” said Meenakshi Roy. “We pray to Ma Durga for our residents’ well-being and ISRO’s continued success.”
CB Block
At Salt Lake’s CB Block, the execution was simple but impactful. The community hall’s wall had been extended to give the look of a blue night sky. Fibre murals of the earth and moon jutted out with lights connecting the two celestial bodies glowing from within. On one side was a replica of the LVM spacecraft and on the other the ISRO control room.
“Chandrayaan is quite topical now. This pandal is a way to celebrate ISRO’s success as well as to motivate children to consider space technology as a career path later on,” said Arup Sundar Pal, secretary of CB Block association that also conducts Durga puja. “Response has been terrific.”
The facade of the CB Block pandal. Brinda Sarkar
The pandal, by Dutta Decorators in CA Market, cost Rs 2.5 lakh to build.
During Ganesh puja this year, Yubak Sangha had built a Chandrayaan-themed pandal in the adjacent BB Block. “By then our block had also zeroed in on this theme. We visited that puja but their take on the subject was different from ours,” said CB Block resident Uttam Kumar Das.
His teenaged son Abhijit Das was impressed with their pandal too. “I did a project on the Chandrayaan-3 for my school exhibition and won the first prize for it,” said the eighth-grader. “I’ve clicked lots of pictures of our pandal and asked my friends to come and check it out,” he said.