The first Allen Park Durga Puja has turned the Park Street area into a new festival destination, attracting large crowds and placing pressure on police and volunteers managing visitors, according to a report by Anandabazar – Kolkata. The puja, which has been organised at Allen Park for the first time, has been drawing visitors over the past few days with its sound-and-light presentation based on Lord Shiva.
The pandal presents the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution through three stages centred on Shiva. Visitors entering from the Park Street side first encounter lights descending from trees, while a representation of Mahadev appears on the left. The theme and its execution have been designed by artist Subrata Bandyopadhyay.
The presentation begins with Shiva’s tandava, represented through a combination of light and sound on the roof of the pandal. This is followed by a section depicting dissolution, before the display moves towards a calmer, cosmic atmosphere. The sound design changes during the transition, while lights move in rhythm with the music to portray the subsiding of Shiva’s anger.
The final section leads visitors to the Durga idol. Blue lighting has been used to suggest the deity’s presence within the universe. Outside the pandal, Shiva sculptures made by bamboo artisans from Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia have been installed. A large Shiva face, made from bamboo cut to precise measurements, has also been illuminated for visitors.
Around 450 artisans and workers spent several months building the pandal, the report said. The organisers have also planned aghori and cremation-ground dances at night, along with evening worship and dance performances accompanied by dhak drums. The puja will include Kumari Puja as well.
Shankudeb Panda, the principal organiser, said the theme was designed around three musical layers. “Visitors are witnessing three kinds of music across the three levels of the pandal,” he said. “Only a discordant flute is playing in the middle. Because there is so much crowd, we are compelled to request visitors, in the tone of an appeal, to move a little faster.”
The crowd response has made visitor circulation a central operational issue at the new venue. Police and volunteers have reportedly been struggling to manage the number of people arriving for photographs and the light-and-sound display. The organisers have also decided to give laptops to meritorious students, alongside the scheduled religious and cultural programmes.
