5 Must See Durga Puja Pandals in Bangalore 2016
Yet another Durga Pujo festival is on the verge of finish! All that will remain is nostalgia! Durga Pujo is THE festival of Bengalees. I don’t very actively celebrate the other countless festival of Bengalees but when it comes to Durga Pujo I get a special excitement. Is it the new clothes or going pandel hopping, meeting up with friends or is it eating of bhog? Ideally it is supposed to be about praying to Ma Durga who descended on earth to vanquish the evil. But then I am an ordinary mortal more interested in worldly stuffs and not yet spiritual enough to get to that high level.
So, this pujo I too I went around several pandels. Pandel is the set up around the idols. While some have huge collections from their members some just gather enough to conduct the pujo. Depending on the budget different associations spend money on this set up. Some associations spend lot on the idols and their accessories. What ever done Bangalore pujos are nowhere compared to Kolkata pujos. From the several pandels that I visited here are 5 of them which in my opinion are must see just to get the flavour of Durga Pujo even if you don’t celebrate it.
5 Must See Durga Puja Pandals in Bangalore
If you are anywhere in Bangalore now do have a look at these pandels. Check out my last year’s list; Top 5 Durga Pujo Pandals in Bangalore 2015.
1.Jaymahal Sarbajanin Durga Pujo, Jaymahal
This association is celebrating their 62nd Durga Pujo in Bangalore. The entrance is a model of Dakhineshwar Kali Temple. The color combination seemed perfect. The dimension on a reduced scale is good too. The structure seems completely eco friendly which I think is excellent effort on their part. It is made of cloth and wooden structure. Artisans were on job for past few weeks to give the structure a fantastic finish.
Inside the idols too had huge grand accessories! The mukut(crown) on God’s and Goddess’s head were huge and very elaborately decorated. All the idols were done so beautifully, not only me several onlookers and visitors stood admiring the whole grandeur.
2. Oikotan Hebbal Durga Pujo, Hebbal
I liked this pandel for its colorfulness. Several colourful toys idols based on Chennapatna’s wooden toys formed the theme here. The child in your heart is bound to get attracted to this. Inside the idols were positioned on an arched frame. Most noteworthy was the art form used in the making of eyes. They were big and round, very prominent feature of the faces. The accessories used were simple. Mahisasur here is laid flat on his back, the lion on him and Goddess Durga mounted on lion, very different from the ones I saw in all other pandels.
3. Sarathi Socio Cultural Trust, Koromangala
This pujo is conducted inside a kalyana mantapa, hall used for weddings.So the exterior doesn’t have any elaborate decoration, it is like you are entering into any other building. This year the idols have a monochrome complexion, no gold, no glitter. It is grey all over, I was told only clay and cement has been used to give the form and color. I visited on ashtami and the idols looked divine in their simple forms. Two garlands of yellow and red flowers adorned the idols. Even the weapons formed a part of the idol. Elsewhere they are made of tin foils. I was simply struck by the simplicity here. Definitely one of the must see pandels of Bangalore.
4. Poorva Bangalore Cultural Association, Brookefields
This pujo too is conducted in a Kalyana Mantapa. It is a huge hall, yet the space wasn’t enough to accommodate the huge crowd here. I couldn’t reach anywhere near the idols. The decorations here were of more rustic type. A thatched roof, with lanterns hanging provided a faux shade to the idols. Each idol was bordered with winnows. Here too the making seemed very ecofriendly. If you observe carefully the eyes of the idols here are different. They are more round. These eyes are called soumya chokh, meaning soft soothing eyes. The attire too was simple. No glittering clothes, just plain white sarees with red borders. The idols decorated more with flowers here. I totally loved this concept.
5. Ulsoor Bengalee Association
I may have mentioned it last in the list here but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a visit. Ulsoor Bengalee association has for year after year put up idols based on different themes. This year too they have Jamini Roy art form and several Ramayana characters in the frame. They used shoal based accessories. Shoal is naturally white and this adds a different charm.
If you are anywhere in Bangalore now do have a look at these pandels. Check out my last year’s list; Top 5 Durga Pujo Pandals in Bangalore 2015.
Okey, now I want to go top Bangalore. All 5 duja pandals are so beautiful! I will write this down on my must go to list. This is the kind of places I want to experience the most, so unique!
Wow Bangalore is so colourful i love the architectural designs, i wish to visit it one day
These buildings and statues are simply breathtaking! ! Such gorgeous colours and details. Ree Love30
We haven’t been there yet but we add this article to our bookmarks now. We have to visit a place like this 🙂
Great captures…i am in Bangalore now but looked like i saw this post a tad bit late 🙁 Must say that all the pandals look very grand!
Beautiful captures. Thanks for sharing the durga puja pandals in Bangalore 🙂
Sad to miss out the great five from your list Indrani but a visit to any of the pandals do give a sense of festivity and celebration not to forget the bhog!
Thanks a ton for listing Oikotan Hebbal in the second spot. We take great pain in ensuring that the main part of any pujo, the pandal is different every time. Hope to see you in our pujo coming years as well.
Wish, the reporter would have visited/interviewed “Amader Pujo” organised by Kanakpura Road Bengali Association ( KARBA) at JP Nagar….the list would have been different for sure…
I couldn’t locate your pujo. Searched desperately on Google maps too. My suggestion is please pin it in the map so that it is easy to locate. Thank you for the comment. Shubho Bijoya !
Other than Hebbal, In North Bangalore there are a number of pandals, notable among them being the ones at at HMT Ground and near Jalahalli Metro Station.
Yes , plenty of them that side. They are simple ones comparatively.
Thank you for the comment.
Surprising to see JBCA Durgapuja not listed
FB: JBCA.BANGALORE
Yes, yours too was wonderful! 🙂
May be I could have made a list of 10.
Wonderful capture and coverage on the pandals! The kali temple replica is pretty neat
Amazingly Beautiful1!
Wow each of them looks grand!
I guess there are quite a few. And it must have been tough for you to filter them all down to the best five.
All of them are so beautiful.. thanks for sharing such lovely pics of the Pandals!
wow, I wish I was there in this festive season. The decorations looks very beautiful.
Thanks for covering the beautiful pandals in Bangalore. We can feel little bit of Kolkata right here in Bangalore
Ohh gorgeous list. I recalls me of my days in Bhilai. I love being in multi-cultural city especially because of this reason. We celebrate each festival, loud and sound 😀 Happy Dussehra Indrani!
beautiful picture and must read post for Bangaloreans!
Fabulous! I went to the Koramangala one and loved it. You are right that the simplicity of the idol shines through.
Wow, Wasnt aware that Bangalore sis have these Pandals in all its glitterati!!!! Awesome
Awesome pictures. Thanks for the info
Lovely 🙂 would love to see these in BLR haven’t ever one pandal hopping there 🙂 will tag along next year Indrani 🙂
Wow! What a coverage! Pujo bhog is such a delight:) love the colours of sindoor khela as well. Thanks for the sharing the ones in BLR. Loved the decorations!
I just saw the Brookfields one. It looked awesome. Was witness to a lot of these celebrations in Andamans this time. 🙂 Happy Durga Pooja to you 😀
I was eagerly waiting for your Durga pujo post.
As always, loved it.
So many places in Bangalore too!!! I am missing Durga Puja big time!!!!!
Each one is unique….
Awesome photos.
Beautiful captures