A view from the Kumartuli Ghat in North Kolkata !

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“In ‘Ek Chala’ idols, goddess Durga and her four children — Kartikeya , Ganesha , Saraswati , and Laxmi — are all sculpted in one frame known as ‘chal chitra’.” Due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, more and more people are giving elaborate and flashy designs a miss and are opting for the simple ‘Ek Chala’ style idols.

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Ek Chala Durga pratima

The sixth day or Shashti is when the deity is unveiled in front of the public. Prayers and rituals are observed such as playing of dhaks (a kind of drum) by the dhakis, with one of the prime events of the day being Mahisasur Mardini, a theatrical enactment with songs and plays of Goddess Durga vanquishing the evil.

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Durga Idols in pandals of Kolkata

I learned a lot of photography and composition capturing the festival of Durga Pujo from my college days and still exploring the city and its transformation each Pujo every year. &nbsp;You get the best of creatives and artists from India and the world showcasing their work. During the Pujo, the city is like a plethora of pictures and stories to be captured, shared.

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Capturing Ma Durga at the pandals

&nbsp;This was a year of simple celebrations, almost like going back in time centuries ago when Durga Puja was more of a family celebration than public

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Pujo Pandal at College Square - Kolkata

This pandal was from the AE block Pujo in salt lake. The best time to check these pandals out is in the mornings when the streets are empty and you can spend some good at the pandals.&nbsp;

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Another unique pandal from Kolkata Pujo 2020

Vijaya Dashami is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and rejoice at Bengali houses. This year as well we enjoyed a good dinner with the big family get together and pot luck from each household. Food and Pujo always go together for us bongs. I experimented with cooking some Amritsari Fish fry with a 4kg Bhetki fish, luckily that turned out to be very tasty.

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Bijoya Dashami Feast for Durga Pujo 2020

This year has robbed us all of the joy of celebrating our favorite festivals. Like Ganesh Chaturthi, Ramadan, Durga Puja 2020 in Kolkata too was toned down in the interest of public safety. Pandals, this year, avoided extravagant decorations and installments to keep the not-so-obedient indoors. This was a year of simple celebrations, almost like going back in time centuries ago when Durga Puja was more of a family celebration than public

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No entry into the Pujo pandals

This year we all are maintaining social distancing and so is Ma Durga. Just Before the Pujos the High court also announced that no one will be allowed to enter the Pandals this year in the interest of public safety. The first time in the history of Durga Pujo, within an area of 5 and 10 meters around the small and big pandals, respectively, it will be a no-entry zone for visitors. Only organizers may enter the area with the names of those with permission to be displayed outside.&nbsp;

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Social Distancing with Durga Ma

Victoria Memorial, which is located near the luscious green Maidan, is a testimony of the peak of the British Empire in India. The memorial was built between 1906 and 1921 in the memory of Queen Victoria's 25 years reign in India.&nbsp;Fun fact - The British government surprisingly did not spend a penny on this memorial. A whooping One crore Five Lacs rupees which was the cost to built the monument was donated by the people of India and the royalties!

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Victoria Memorial - Travel back to the Victorian Era

Taken on June 16, 2012, this picture was one of the first frames captured by me. The camera has since become a way of expressing myself, an outlet of relaxation and exploring the world out there. I remember learning long exposures that night trying to capture the life at the river Hooghly. Prinsep Ghat is special to me for those lovely memories. It is indeed a photographer’s delight. The silhouette of the second Hooghly bridge provides the perfect backdrop for the Prinsep Ghat.

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Second Hooghly bridge - one of my first attempts at photography from Prinsep Ghat

The voyage  in the Hooghly River

The Royal Enfield occupies a pride of place in Kolkata police. Captured this way back in 2012 on one of the photo walks near the ghats of Hooghly. Photo walks in the streets of &nbsp;Kolkata have brought me closer to the city than earlier. And also helped in meeting the daily step count targets.

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Royal Enfield - pride of Kolkata police

Another capture from the yesteryears of experimenting and exploring the streets of Kolkata; learning, and playing with my camera.

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Industries of Kolkata in the backdrop of hardwork

James Prinsep was a versatile genius, who came to India in 1819, at the age of 20. He became the Assay-master of the Calcutta Mint. He also founded the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and deciphered the ancient Kharosthi and Brahmi scripts of India. In his short, yet illustrious life he achieved several remarkable feats in art, science, and numismatics. On his demise at the age of 40, the citizens raised a public fund of Rs. 12,000 to construct this monument in 1841. Since then this has been an important landing place for dignitaries who visited Calcutta. As you enter Prinsep Ghat, you are welcomed by a grand monument with the 2nd Howrah bridge in the background. If you visit after sunset, both the monument and bridge are lit up beautifully and are a treat to watch sitting by the garden.

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James Prinsep and his memorial - Prinsep Ghat Kolkata

The boats come ashore after a day's outing - Prinsep Ghat. Catch one of the best sunsets in Kolkata, in the backdrop of Hooghly and the Vidyasagar Setu, or on a boat ride in the Hooghly river. A memory you will cherish for a lifetime.

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The boats come ashore after a day's outing - Prinsep Ghat

It’s simple, romantic, and artistic. The place is as much for young couples as it is for the solitary wanderers. Photographers, filmmakers, and artists flock to the place in the evening for inspiration. Catch one of the best sunsets in Kolkata, in the backdrop of Hooghly and the Vidyasagar Setu, or on a boat ride in the Hooghly river. A memory you will cherish for a lifetime.

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Vidyasagar Setu from Prinsep Ghat

How could a place be so full and empty at the same time? All around are the crumbling graves with cracked tombstones, faded with time, covered with yellow moss and falling leaves of the trees around, somehow surviving in an eerie silence. The South Park Street Cemetery, Kolkata is a concentration of the who’s who of British Raj. Many mighty ones found their last resting place here—surrounded by a twenty foot high mossy stone wall enclosure—in one of the oldest cemeteries of India.