by Dr Suman Banerjee (12A,1004, 98108 29896)
Durga Puja in its full fervour returned to Lotus Panache this year after a hiatus of two years due to the pandemic when it was celebrated as a low-key affair within the defined protocol.
Organised by the Anandaroopa Cultural Trust, it was held on the Central Lawn of the premises. The theme for the puja was “Toys to bring Joy”. This was conceived by Ashish Poddar and was executed by the tireless efforts of a dedicated team comprising of Anamitra, Ayan, Somnath, Kaushik, Sandip, Saumitra Subhasish, Narendra, Partha, Probal, Shantanu, Urmi, Rashmi, Cara, Ritu, Paromita, Santosh and yours truly. The entire society came forward to support the cause. Toys were collected all across the NCR, and then the pandal was designed like a Toy Box and decorated with the toys.
Toys were distributed amongst 50 underprivileged kids from orphanages with the help of CRY. Mr Alok Singh, CP, GB NAGAR, graced the occasion. The happiness of these kids was a huge reward to the team. Popsicle Culture run by Mrs Archana provided popsicles to these kids.
Covid warriors were felicitated for the immense and selfless effort they had put in during the second wave.
On Chaturthi, we had the Dandiya night, where LPites danced away to Garba beats in colourful ensembles. Panchami was time for Anandamela, where the LP HOME CHEFS put up food stalls, and home-cooked food was savoured by fellow residents. Maa was brought to Panache the same night accompanied by the beats of the Dhaak. On Sashti, we had performances by LP residents followed by Agomani, which welcomes Durga Maa, through music and dance, conceived by Urmi, Ritu and the spectacular visuals were by Santosh. Rahul Deb, an Indian Idol finalist mesmerized the crowd with his soulful rendition.
Saptami too had performances by LP residents followed by a Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, wherein there were dance performances on the Nightingale’s songs. This was followed by Parikrama, a dance performance by the ladies of Panache based on the theme- Zindagi ka Safar. Debanjali, has been the brain behind this show which was in its third year. This was followed by a band- Bengal Project, spearheaded by our fellow resident, Ujjwal.
Ashtami evening began with Dhunuchi dance which is well attended and followed by a band- Anhad, organised by our fellow resident, Prasenjit who also performed. Nabami too had Dhunuchi dance followed by a delightful performance by Subrata Pancham.
Dashami is the day we say goodbye with heavy heart to our beloved Maa. Sindur Khela is an integral part of the rituals where ladies smear sindoor on Maa Durga and to each other wishing good luck for a long married life. Immersion took place in the evening at a designated area in sector 105.
This was a resounding success and was thoroughly appreciated by the residents.
