Durga Puja is here, with its colourful pandals and binge-worthy delicacies. Celebrities share with JYOTHI VENKATESH  their plans for this year!

From pandal hoping to praying for the end of Covid, celebrities share their Durga puja plans for this year!

Avinash Mukherjee: 

Durga Puja time is my happy time. Be it stage and pandal decorations, planning cultural fests, dancing the night away or preparing elaborate meals for devotees (bhog), everything becomes part of the festivities that lead to worshipping the goddess. My fondest memory would always be the visarjan time though it’s a sad moment as Maa Durga goes back to her husband Lord Shivji’s place. But the whole rally, the sound of the drums and according to the beat we also match the steps the whole ambiance is magical. My favourite bhog would be the desert, the kheer it’s an authentic Bengali kheer which you get to eat during Durga puja. I am looking forward to visiting Kumar Shanu’s Durga Puja celebrations this time and also a couple of at Powai pandals. My prayers for this year would be about my and my family’s well being. Health is wealth and we should always take care of that.

Nyrraa M Banerji

Durga Puja is the best festival for us, we Bengalis actually wait for this festival. Durga Puja celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon king Mahishasura. Memories are plenty but one is still very much there is the eating bhog at pandals. My favourite is khichdi and mixed vegetables. The taste is completely different from the regular food. If I get some time off, I will try to visit pandals in Mumbai. There is a very famous one in South Mumbai and then there is also Rani Mukherjee’s puja. As the festive season draws closer, the streets of various cities are decked up to welcome the divine in all her glory with enthusiasm and positive vibes. I will pray to Maa Durga to end this deadly virus. We have given enough to this, now it’s our turn to flourish.