All-woman Durga Puja pandal in Ghaziabad a crowd puller

The team of priestesses have been performing the rituals at Satyanarayan pujas, Griha Pravesh (house warming) ceremonies, and weddings back in Kolkata for the past one and a half years. This is the first time that they are officiating a Durga Puja

Twenty-four-year-old Diptashree Ganguly is away from her parents in Kolkata for the first time on Durga Puja, but for good reason. She is one of the three women priests who are officiating the rituals at the all-women Durga Puja pandal called the “Ananya Nari” in Shalimar Garden, Ghaziabad.

All-woman Durga Puja pandal in Ghaziabad a crowd puller

The one-of-its-kind puja organised by Shalimar Garden Mahila Sewa Samiti has become a crowd puller, with the venue packed to the seams with visitors daily.

From engaging women priests and women drummers (dhakis) from Kolkata, to getting women volunteers to distribute prasad and more, each and every ritual of the puja is being carried out by women, said the organisers.

“I have been to Delhi-NCR earlier on vacation but this is the first time I am not with my parents at the time of Durga Puja. They, however, insisted that I shouldn’t let go of such an opportunity,” Ganguly said.

The team of priestesses have been performing the rituals at Satyanarayan pujas, Griha Pravesh (house warming) ceremonies, and weddings back in Kolkata for the past one and a half years. This is the first time that they are officiating a Durga Puja.

“We agreed to come to Ghaziabad to perform the rituals at the Durga Puja pandal here because this is an all-women initiative. Thanks to the residents of Shalimar Garden and the Samiti members, I feel completely at home here,” said Barnali Ghoshal (54), another priestess from Kolkata.

Ghoshal says they were a bit nervous given the scale of the five-day long Puja but thanks to the blessings of Goddess Durga, they have been able to do it.

“We started with weddings and people got to know about us through social media posts. Then we were invited to perform rituals at a house warming and we started getting more invitations,” Biswas said.

The team said many youngsters now want their wedding rituals to be performed by priestesses. “It is a norm to see women of the home perform puja at home. Then why can’t women officiate a Durga Puja?” said Ganguly, who is also associated with a Howrah-based NGO that works for the welfare of underprivileged children.

According to Taniya Roy, one of the members of the Samiti, while the initiative faced some resistance when it was first mooted, it has been accepted by locals wholeheartedly.

“The venue is packed since Day One and we have been getting an overwhelming response from locals. We plan to continue this tradition next year as well,” said Roy.

Not to be outdone, neighbouring Noida too is hosting some unique pandals this year. In Noida’s Sector 33, the Durga Puja pandal organised by the NTPC Sourya Township is themed on the Belur Math Ramakrishna Temple and is completely eco-friendly and energy efficient.

Avjit Mandal, a member of NTPC Township puja committee, said, “To make the puja eco-friendly and energy efficient, most of the pandal decorations were done using environment friendly materials and all lights are energy efficient. The entire pandal has been built with engraved MDF boards. Also, to promote the usage of clay utensils, there is a dedicated stall for selling clay utensils, diyas and surahis. Posters of “Say No to Plastics” have been put up across the pandal to raise awareness and measures have been taken to drastically reduce the usage of plastic in the celebrations,” he said.

In Greater Noida West, the Durga Puja committee at Protichi-A Dreamville Bengali Association have organised street arts (alpona), prabhatferi , art competitions and other cultural events to bring together the community.

“The Sarbojonin Bhog or community meal, is being distributed daily at the pandal to over 800 people. In the evening, several cultural activities are performed by residents and some renowned musicians from West Bengal,” said Shantanu Mukherjee, convener, Durga Puja committee.