As Durga Puja festivities culminate tonight, what better way to remember this year’s specialities than going through some of the unique pandals across India that grabbed the most attention?

After the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022, people have been eagerly waiting to welcome ‘Maa Durga’ and this puja season, pandal committees are ready to provide some unique experiences to the devotees. Hence, from library-themed pandals to one depicting the Vatican City, here are 5 unique pandals that will leave you awestruck.

Pandal depicting Kolkata’s journey

This year, the theme of an innovative pandal set up by North Kolkata’s Dumdum Tarun Dal, Puja Committee, which turns 45 this year, is ‘City of Joy, Calcutta.’ It attempts to reflect the city’s transformation from Old Calcutta to today’s Kolkata.

Library theme to encourage reading

In the Chatribari area in Assam’s Guwahati, the Chatribari Sarbajanin Debo Pujasthan Samiti has built its Durga Puja pandal to depict a library. With this theme, the Puja committee intends to encourage people to read more. The pandal with a library motif features great personalities and literature linked to the Assamese literature.

Depicting lives of sex workers

A pandal in Kolkata that depicts the lives of sex workers under the ‘Parichai’ (identity) shows the society they live in and the way people see them. An idol of Maa Durga made of silicon in the form of a mother has been installed and it attempts to show that even a sex worker has the form of a mother.

Vatican City-themed pandal

This year Kolakata’s Shree Bhoomi Sporting Club, which enthrals the audience every year, has set the theme of its Pooja Pandal as ‘Vatican City’. They have created its marquee as a replica of the Vatican City’s St Peters Basilica.

Pandal made with commemorative coins

Keeping in line with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the Babubagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Puja pandal in South Kolkata has come with a unique pandal made of thousands of commemorative coins issued since independence. The pandal also depicts freedom fighters and great personalities through its ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ theme.

Over the years, Durga Puja has become an inseparable part of Indian culture with innumerable people celebrating this festival in their own unique way while pertaining to tradition.

Durga Puja holds great significance for the devotees, as they pray to the different avatars of goddess Durga each day during the nine-day celebration, known as Navratri. It is among the most important Bengali festivals.