The Bengali community in Pondicherry–sizeable due to the presence of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram–has been celebrating Durga Puja here for several years now. It is mainly organised by the Bangabharathi (Bengali Association of Puducherry), and takes place at the at Saibaba Thirumananilayam (Sri Sai Baba Marriage Hall), located at 8th Cross Road East, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Puducherry. We were given to believe there are now three such in town, but this one is the oldest, initiated by several women we know, including Arun’s own grandmother. The pandal is set up on Sashti and remains until Vijayadashami; it features (sometimes very short) religious rituals like the Sondhi puja, cultural programs, music, and community meals. We made a quick halt here to get photos and take in something of this wider religious atmosphere. But we went in the morning, when hardly anyone was around and the mood was preparatory–priests readying things for the day’s rituals, men and women cutting vegetables, among others directing curious photo-takers like us to “document it well.”
PS: Pandal is a Tamil word that has not become “Pandal” (pan like saucepan+dal) in Anglicised pronunciation. But Mandap would be the more common descriptive term.