Rain fail to deter pandal hoppers

Though dhaks did not beat and the ‘pandals’ and puja arrangements of most puja committees in Siliguri were still incomplete, a good number of people dressed in their best took to the roads of the town last evening braving a steady drizzle.
Though the puja mood really sets in on Mahasaptami in these busy days, the puja-crazy people of this business hub could not wait for Saptami to arrive. Many revellers, in fact, had started pandal hopping from ‘Panchami’ itself.
There were many who came out in their personal vehicles with their families on the Shashti as they hated getting stuck in the traffic snarls on the rest of the days of puja.
“We normally prefer to watch the pujas, which are at a distance from our house on Sashti because the traffic is thin. On other days, we go round the pujas in our locality on foot,” said Rakhal Das, a resident of Hakimpara.
Ratan Barman of Phansidewa had come to Siliguri with his family in an auto last evening as the traffic would not allow the movement of three-wheelers inside the town on the other days. “It is good to see that the organisers have almost completed their work and the town has already been transformed into fairyland,” he smiled.
However, heavy showers late last evening considerably dampened Mahasashti, with the weather forecast saying more rain was expected due to formation of convection currents and local low-pressure areas.
Dark clouds and rains left revelers in a state of despair. Men, women and children dressed in their best had to hurry back home trudging through ankle deep water at many places as the showers continued all through the night.
No major damage to any pandal was reported in the town though.

Courtesy: The Statesman

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