A friend of mine and I finally got out to see some of the pandals, which house the idols of the Goddess, Durga, during the largest Hindu celebration in West Bengal. Imagine Christmas light contests in various neighborhoods and then make it more competitive. Communities spend thousands, sometimes millions of dollars constructing the "house" and its surrounding decorations, then even more for the idol of the Goddess. We went to Alipur and New Alipur in southeastern Kolkata to see some of the idols. These are just three photos that give you a taste of what we saw and some of the diversity amongst the idols and pandals. Each pandal has a different theme. The themes we saw included astrological signs, a pandal made completely of soda bottles, and one based on a village area. Tonight another friend is taking us to see some of the pandals after dark. Should be exciting! Happy Puja!
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