In Kolkata every street has not one but many Pandals. If you take a short stroll, you will see atleast 2-3 in an hour. That’s again if you are not stuck waiting in queues. We wanted to go to this place called Suruchi Sangha. But on the way we saw a Pandal. Pandal - 9 … Continue reading Pandal 9, 10, 11, 12 – Suruchi Sangha & Others
This was a Pandal which has live theatre, music along with art. Usual Pandals are art installations with music that is in sync with the installation theme. Sometimes there is live music (like a band singing etc.) This was different. The theme is this Pandal was Ramayan and there were live theatre artists who were … Continue reading Pandal – 8 – Alipore Sarbojanin
This was a quick Pandal visit. We were already over stimulated mentally after the Salt Lane FD Block Pandal. So to wear things down we took a walk. This BJ Block Pandal is one of those whose exterior is super grand but the interior is okish. Like the Sreebhumi one. The theme was the Somnath … Continue reading Pandal – 7 – Salt Lake BJ Block
Words cannot explain how amazing this Pandal is. My wife came out of the pandal and said she got goosebumps inside her brain. Not sure what that means but I think you can imagine that it’s a different experience altogether. The theme of this Pandal is Nakshi Kanthar Math. It’s a world of Gond Art. … Continue reading Pandal – 6 – Salt Lake FD Block
I don’t know if it’s a Kolkata thing in general or it’s just a Kolkata Taxi driver thing. Almost every taxi driver when had a conversation with talks about Politics. There are multiple ways in which they start the conversation and bring it to politics. Or I should say, wherever the conversation starts, it ends … Continue reading Taxi Drivers’ obsession with Politics
From the time we landed, and even before we landed, everyone was talking about the Sreebhumi Pandal. Sreebhumi, Sreebhumi. Side note, the spelling of Sreebhumi (the way it’s written in Bengal) is super confusing for a South Indian like me. I would have spelt it ShriBhoomi, Sri Bhoomi. The “i” Sri gets replaced with “ee” … Continue reading Pandal – 4, 5 – Sreebhumi
This one was just out of the world. The theme of this Pandal was Beniya Katha · Stories of the merchants. It featured ships, sailors, traders and trade routes. The Durga was made of clay in its raw colour. This place would look even better at night with all the lighting. But we had the … Continue reading Pandal – 3 – Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha
This is the most advertised product in Kolkata. Every damn actor and some actresses can be seen advertising every other baniyan brand in the country. Some brands, I was not even aware of. It’s not strange that in this hot, humid weather, this is probably the most sold product. The need for it transcends age, … Continue reading Baniyan
Next we walked to a Pandal close by. At first sight it felt like the temple or miniature fort. Later we got to know after talking to some locals that this is in the theme of a chariots. In Bengali, “Roth Kotha”. The entire Pandal looks like a chariot. Pulled by horses. And the Durga … Continue reading Pandal 2 – Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra
We arrived at our first Pandal for our trip. It was definitely a weird feeling. Let me explain why. It’s a small crowded lane. It feels like there is no place to walk, let alone have cars going both ways. Suddenly a small entrance opens. It feels like we are entering another small dingy lane. … Continue reading Pandal – 1 – Dum Dum Park Tarun Dal
I don’t know if it’s throughout the year or only during Durga Puja. Every brand changes itself to give Bengali vibes. Look at Coke. I have never seen these kinds of cartoons of Coke anywhere. Look at Kwality Wall’s. Again similar vibes. Kurta, thick frame glasses, kurta, neatly combed hair, red and white saree. Hotels … Continue reading Brands become Bengali
It’s been a couple of years since I started CodeKarma. And I have not a had a single family vacation since then. While I was not noticing this fact, my wife was. One day it came out. We need to go somewhere, she said. I knew I had very little rope left. I immediately, agreed. … Continue reading Kolkata here we come
Like every North Indian wedding the Baraat and other functions are extremely delayed. The wedding card says the Baraat is scheduled for 7pm. We reach the venue at 8:30 pm and the Baraat happens at 9:45pm. That’s almost like a 3h delay. But nobody cares. It’s like an open secret. An unsaid rule. The food … Continue reading Sikkim – May be not again
It’s 6 am. A bright and sunny day. We’ve booked a helicopter from Gangtok to Bagdogra. But we’re unsure if it will take off or not—it heavily depends on the weather. Sikkim weather is highly unpredictable, and helicopter cancellations are quite common. Heliport Sikkim We reach the Heliport (yes, like an airport) at 8:30 am. … Continue reading The Helicopter Ride
After 11 hours of travel the previous day and a ton of memories and photographs, I wake up. The time is around 8am. Through my window I can see the snow capped peaks. The sky is clear and the peaks are glistening in the early morning sun. Everyone wakes up one by one. Today’s plan … Continue reading Gangtok + Zumzin = Bliss
Sweet We decide to leave early for zero point. The hotel staff tell us that the checkpoint will only open at 630. We decide to leave at 530 from the hotel. Rather than waiting in a traffic jam behind 100 vehicles, we would prefer waiting for the checkpoint to open as the first vehicle. Sun … Continue reading Sweetbitter
We have traveled for over 30hrs in the last 48 hours. That too on bad roads and in bad vehicles. We decide to minimise the travel today. Lachen The original plan is to leave for Gurudongmar Lake at 5 am. But we choose sleep instead. We wake up at 9:30 am and head for … Continue reading Enough of travel
After a 10 hour tight cab ride yesterday, we got some good sleep and go ready to leave to Lachen. The plan was to halt at Lachen for the night and proceed to Gurudonmer lake. We got permits to go to North Sikkim. We left Gangtok at 12pm. The ride was supposed to be 6-7 … Continue reading Yesterday Was Just the Starter; Here’s the Main Course
We landed in Bagdogra at 1140AM. Next stop was Gangtok. We saw a Helicopter service to Gangtok. There was a bleak chance that we might be able to get a seat on the 2:00 pm shuttle. The helicopter we never boarded The guy at the counter said, Sir, you have to wait for 2 hours. … Continue reading Tight seats, Traffic, Trauma
Of course - Generated by ChatGPT. A friend’s wedding in Siliguri became a convenient reason for a bunch of us to visit Sikkim. Basically, we turned a wedding into a short holiday. Last night, I slept at 2 am and woke up at 3. Honestly, that one hour hardly counts as sleep—it felt more like … Continue reading Sleep deprived thoughts
