Hello Everyone,
This is my first ever post on Local Guides Connect, so let me introduce myself first. I am Nirmal Sarkar, a resident of Kolkata, and currently a Level 7 Local Guide at the time of writing this post. I am a Tech Blogger, and an M.Tech student, studying Environmental Biotechnology from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
To the global community of Local Guides, I know what comes to your mind when you think of India: a place rich with cultural diversity, our monuments, our temples, our hill stations, our sea beaches, and of course, our food.
But what comes to your mind when you hear the name Kolkata?
Bengalees, right?
And what’s the biggest Bengali festival?
Yup, you’ve guessed it right, its the Durga Puja.
To those who aren’t aware of this festival, check out this Wikipedia article.
Every year, around October, we celebrate Durga Puja. If you visit Kolkata during the festival days, you will find streets full of crowd, hopping around Puja Pandals.
Most of us already know about the famous Durga Pujas, and we make the most out of the festive week planning the perfect trip to cover all the Puja Pandals in the 5-6 days.
But if you are coming from outside, either from other states of India or abroad, then, it will be pretty confusing for you to plan your trip.
But worry not, here’s a detailed guide from a Bengalee to the global community the speaks about the Durga Puja. In this post, you will know about the Durga Puja, and how to navigate around.
Best Durga Puja Destinations in Kolkata:
Nope, I won’t spill any beans about which place is better, and which is not-so-good. Come, visit and find it out yourself. I only made a noob-friendly list of the best Durga Puja destinations in Kolkata, dividing it into North and South Kolkata sections.
Check them out!
Coming to the Navigation Part below.
Languages Spoken and Public Signs?
The primary language is Bengali, but don’t worry if you aren’t familiar with it. All roadside signs and symbols are in English. All shop names are in English. And people around know English. If you need any help, ask a youngster in English you will get the required help.
Where to start from?
Start from South, and go towards North, or vice versa. If your time is short, or you don’t wish to cover all, then drop the North Kolkata plan. South Kolkata has got a number of pujas that attracts a huge crowd.
Day or Night?
It’s your call. In this festive season, Kolkata remains active 24x7. You will find people on the road throughout the night. However, roaming in Day or Night has its own advantages and disadvantages.
In the daytime, you will find a lesser crowd (yes, most prefer the night), so you can travel around faster. Start early morning, say at 3 am or 4 am if you want to plan a day trip. You will find most big restaurants open from 10 am onwards.
But you will miss the lighting. The Puja Pandal and surroundings are decorated with beautiful lightings that you can only capture during night time. In fact, this is a major reason people prefer to travel during night time. Also, it helps to avoid the heat of the sun.
If you are planning a whole-night trip, start at 5 pm. That’s the sweet spot of getting the most out of the night. And don’t forget to have dinner at some restaurant by 11 pm or midnight. Most of the big restaurants will close at 11 pm, although some remains open till midnight, and even fewer till 1 am.
Remember, unlike other big cities, Kolkata doesn’t have a mainstream nightlife, so you won’t be finding open shops at night. If you need anything, like first aid, or snacks, then buy them during your travel in the evening itself.
Cabs and other Private Transport:
Uber and OlaCabs are available 24x7 in Kolkata, but expect pricing surge, as there will be traffic snarls across the roads. If you are booking cabs, then call the driver and give your exact location details, and please wait patiently for the driver to come to your location. Many roads remain closed during the Puja, which might increase your travel time.
Hopefully, Google Maps keeps a track of live-traffic at Kolkata during the Puja, and you are not likely to come across any blocked roads.
Offline Yellow Taxis are available, you can just raise your hand and ask them to stop if you find an empty taxi on road.
If you want to drive yourself, Zoomcar is also available. They give car on rental. Please follow traffic rules in case you are driving yourself.
Public Transport:
The bus is the primary mode of Public Transport in Kolkata. They are the heartline of Kolkata, you will find people from all classes taking the bus, from a roadside merchant to the big office boss! They are cheap too.
Two types of buses ply in Kolkata roadways: Private and Govt. However, at night you will find mostly Govt. buses around, and fewer private buses.
If you are expert in navigation, then you can reach anywhere within Kolkata with the correct Bus Numbers, but I assume you are coming from outside with zero ideas about Kolkata bus routes.
Use Google Maps Navigation. It will show you the exact route with the available buses. Now live-track them using the following two apps:
Other than buses, you will find auto-rickshaws on the road, throughout the night that can take you to nearby locations. These are extremely helpful, as you can see most Puja locations are a small distance apart. So, the common culture is to visit a location via Auto, check out all the nearby Pandals by walking around, and then go to another place.
If you are a non-Bengalee, then most likely Autos will try to dupe you by charging high, so, here’s what you need to do, before getting into an Auto, ask a local youth about the pricing, and then board into the auto. If you want, you can also ask your fellow passenger.
Coming to Railways, Kolkata Metro Railways serve a few major locations of Durga Puja, and remains available whole night, till 4 am, during the Durga Puja days. Indian Railways Suburban trains also ply at night in South section of Sealdah division.
Food:
Kolkata is full of foodies. From roadside restaurants to big ones, restaurants of all cuisines available throughout the city. Hit up Google Maps and you will land in a restaurant of your choice.
Among the street foods, ‘Fuchka’ or ‘Golgappe’ is a must try. The fuchkas here are different from those you find in other cities. Other than this, you can taste ‘Papdi Chat’, ‘AluKabli’, ‘Bhel Puri’, ‘Dahi Vada’, ‘Fuchka Churmur’. Also, try ‘Momos’ from the roadside momo shops. Keep a hand-sanitizer ready if you are diving into street foods all of a sudden!
Among the Royal foods, try the Kolkata Chicken or Mutton Biryani, with Potatoes. It has a characteristics flavor. Also, try visiting a Bengali restaurant some noon and have some authentic Bengali dish. Don’t worry if you don’t like fish, Bengali style Chicken and Mutton is also tasty.
Kolkata is famous for its sweets. Do visit any sweet shop and try out the sweets, especially the ‘Rosogolla’ (pronounced in Bangla as ‘Raw-Show-Goal-Laa’), ‘Mishti Doi’, ‘Kachagolla’, ‘Chanar Jilipi’, ‘Jalebi’, ‘Ledikeni’, ‘Jolbhora’ etc.
Durga Puja Carnival:
The Durga Puja Carnival is a major exhibition event that takes place every year after the festive season gets over. It is an exhibition of the best Durga Pujas of that year, which takes place at Red Road (near Esplanade), Kolkata. It is the final chance of having a look at that year’s Durga Idol before it gets immersed in the water body (and taken up soon, so that it doesn’t pollute the water body. The idol immersion is just for ritual). All best idols get exhibited at the Carnival, they all move like a parade session. It is very beautiful to look at.
The event happens in an afternoon after Vijaya Dashami, the exact date is announced by the Govt. of West Bengal. It goes on from 4 pm to 8 pm.
Last year, 2018, I visited there and recorded some part of the event. Check out my video below.
You can pretty much analyze the crowd in the festive mood from the video. And that’s the Carnival only. So, just imagine how would be the actual festival days?
Book Your Flights and come to Kolkata during the Durga Puja
Did I miss anything?
Maybe, yeah! Coz it is literally not possible to jot down everything in a single post. Will update this post if anything hits me further.
I hope you find this post helpful. Thank you for bearing with me and reading till the last line.
Let me know if you need any further information, will try to help you out. I am also available on Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s some beautiful Bong Ladies dancing in the festival before the idol immersion on the final day.