Theme pandals in this year’s Saraswati Puja in Alipurduar district grabbed good attention from devotees of all age groups as they, dressed up in colourful attires, flocked in large numbers at the pandals. People in Alipurduar got a different taste of the Puja this year as several organizers based their Pujas on various social themes, including ‘communism’ and ‘drug addiction.’
A Saraswati Puja organizer, Naba Jiban Sangha, at Salsalabari village under the Alipurduar police station, organized its Puja on the theme ‘drug addiction’ this year. Like previous years, Bimal Chandra Saha, a high school teacher associated with the Chalsa high school, made this theme pandal based on drug addiction.
Mr Saha is a permanent resident of Salsalabari village in Alipurduar. “Naba Jiban Sangha, which is situated just beside my house at Salsalabari village in Alipurduar, is surrounded by children on this day and they organize the Saraswati Puja every year since 1987. Every year, they organize the Puja on themes, and this year too, they did the same,” Mr Saha said.
“Like every year, we have made a themeed Puja Pandal for our club Naba Jiban Sangha this year too,” Mr Saha added. There were several others who based the puja on Monday on various themes across the district, it is learnt.