South City Mall will host its first Durga Puja this autumn, introducing a new destination to Kolkata’s established pandal circuit and marking a shift from the mall’s earlier role as a pre-Puja shopping stop to that of a festival venue.
The Puja, themed “Jatra”, or “the journey”, will explore the different journeys associated with Durga Puja: the goddess’s arrival, families returning home, friends travelling together between pandals and traditions passing between generations. The mall said the celebration would feature what it described as India’s biggest-ever Durga Puja pandal inside a mall.
South City Mall and other Kolkata malls, including Acropolis, have installed Durga idols in their atriums during the festival for several years. South City’s decision to organise a Puja of its own represents a larger format of participation, with the shopping centre positioning itself as a community celebration and not only as a retail destination.
Dip Biswas, Centre Director, South City Mall, said the first Puja was intended to acknowledge the relationship between the mall and the city. “Kolkata has given South City Mall a place in its life, and that affection has shaped who we are,” Biswas said. “Our first Pujo is a heartfelt way of honouring this relationship. We want Jatra to feel like a celebration the city can call its own.”
Nishank Joshi, Chief Marketing Officer, Nexus Select Malls, said the scale of the pandal would attract attention, but that the event would need to build acceptance in a city with a long-established cultural tradition. He said the theme reflected the way Pujo travels across generations, carrying memories and creating new ones.
The announcement also places the mall’s celebration alongside Kolkata’s continuing use of Puja themes to interpret the city’s cultural history. Last year, Nabin Pally Durga Puja on Nalin Sarkar Street in Hatibagan recreated the theatre neighbourhood that once existed around nearby Raja Rajkrishna Street. The installation brought back facades and booking counters associated with theatres including Sarcarina and Rangana, recreated a revolving stage and displayed posters from earlier productions.
That Puja also paid tribute to performers such as Noti Binodini, Tripti Mitra and Miss Shefali, as well as lighting designer Tapas Sen. South City’s “Jatra” takes a different route, linking the idea of movement to the mall’s own transition from a familiar part of Puja preparations to a new stop on the city’s autumn festival map.
Further details about the Puja’s programme, visitor arrangements and schedule were not provided in the announcement. The mall is expected to host the celebration during the autumn Durga Puja season.
