Oct. 2-5 - Pandal Pictoral

Pandals are limited only by the imagination & financial resources of the neighborhood. Many hire professional pandal artists to create their design. Art students form teams who are hired out for the season...you can tell when they are working on a project -they are truly works of art!

The best estimate is that there are over 100,000 puja pandals in Kolkata alone!






Electrical archways at the next closest pandal to my house...it was massive! Fabric is stretched over the frame first, then adornments - in this case textured carved styrofoam, is glued to the fabric "walls"











Here's one covered in kitchen stainless steel pots!

































There's a green movement to make pandals 100% biodegradable, so this city-wide famous pandal, built in the same location for over 60 years (but with different designs) was made with jute decor.





These are "pan" vendors...it's a condiment rich mixture of many spices & leaves, wrapped either in a leaf that melts quickly in your mouth, or one that lingers...my Bengali friends were so happy to see them being sold, but said, even with my pretty exotic palate I should pass on trying pan.




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Location:West Bengal, India