QKolkata: A Rain-Soaked Navami; CM Mamata’s Song For Durga Puja

Read The Quint’s compilation of the top stories from Kolkata in national dailies across the country.

It was a rain-soaked Navami.

(Photo: PTI)

1. Showers Soak Last Lap of Puja Trail

Spells of rain from morning till late afternoon on Navami somewhat dampened the Puja spirit and forced Calcuttans to either cancel or postpone their pandal-hopping plans to the last day of the celebration. But showers might play spoilsport on Dashami too, the weather office has warned.

Traffic in the city was smooth for Navami because of fewer cars on the roads, barring a few exceptions.

Stretches of road like Rashbehari Avenue, Central Avenue-Mahatma Gandhi Road, APC Road, Maniktala Main Road and AJC Bose Road had heavy traffic, but there weren't many frustrating choke points.

Source: The Telegraph

Also Read: Durga Pujo With a Twist? IVF Reaches This Pandal in Kolkata

2. Mamata Banerjee Gets Theme Song Composed for Durga Puja

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurating a pandal in Kolkata.  (Photo: PTI)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee composed the theme song for a popular city puja since theme music has become a new trend among community pujas in the metropolis.

The song – Boichitrer muktoy gantha ekotar monihar (the jewel of unity is stitched with a string of pearls of diversity) – was being played at the ‘Suruchi Sangha’ puja, winner of multiple awards.

Singer Shreya Ghosal lent her voice for the theme song that has been composed by Jeet Gannguly.

Source: The Times of India

Also Read: Mamata Urges Pujo, Muharram Organisers to Ensure Communal Amity

3. Girl Abused and Set Ablaze, Man Held

Anti-rape protest. Photo used for representational purposes.(Photo: The Quint)

An 18-year-girl has died after she was allegedly sexually abused and set on fire by a man in Nadia district.

Amalesh Kumar Mandal, 26, a railway gateman, was caught by people when they saw flames emanating from his quarters yesterday evening and handed over to police.

The girl, who succumbed to her burns at a hospital last night, told the police and doctors in her dying statement that Mandal had first tried to rape her and then hang her with a rope. “We have recovered a rope from the ceiling of Mandal’s room, which confirms what the girl told us,” said a police source.

Source: The Telegraph

Also Read: Purulia Rape Case: Accused Who Had Inserted Needles Arrested in UP

4. Strike Shadow on Darjeeling Festival

Dashain is here, but what is missing is the usual spirit surrounding one of the biggest festivals in the Darjeeling hills.

People are blaming the nearly three-and-a-half month shutdown that ended on Wednesday morning for the dampened mood.

For the vast majority of the people, today will be a Dashain unlike the previous years as they are forced to make compromises on many fronts, ranging from dresses to dishes. People simply do not have enough cash to indulge in their usual splurges, which have been an integral part of the festivities. Some of them cannot even afford to buy a complete set of new dresses for their loved ones.

Source: The Telegraph

Also Read: GJM’s Bimal Gurung Calls Off Gorkhaland Strike, Weathers Backlash

5. Goddess Durga Sparkles In Gold In 2 Kolkata Pujas

Two heavyweight Durga Puja committees in Kolkata have adorned their idols with gold jewellery. Photo used for representational purpose.(Photo: PTI)

Two heavyweight Durga Puja committees in Kolkata have adorned their idols with gold jewellery weighing several kilograms.

While the Sreebhumi Sporting Club used gold in the crowns of deities, the Santosh Mitra Square puja committee went for a saree made of the yellow metal for Goddess Durga.

The Sreebhumi Sporting Club puja was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Source: NDTV

Also Read: Interested in Learning About Durga Puja? Here’s a Course for You

6. Rs 1 Cr Stolen From Treasury Building

Over Rs 1 crore kept by the postal department in the vault of East Burdwan's main treasury building went missing today amid questions on whether some insiders had played a role in the theft.

The incident came to light this morning when some post office employees went to the treasury building to collect the cash.

“When I went inside the treasury building, I found our vault broken and there was no money inside. We had kept Rs 1.19 crore on 27 September to pay the money to the pension holders today,” said one of the employees who had gone to collect the money from the treasury.

Source: The Telegraph

7. When Vidyasagar Turned Priest

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.(Photo Courtesy: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

The Bhattacharyyas of Bahirgachi in Nadia's Muragacha remain indebted to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, as he had rescued the family from big trouble during Durga Puja by playing the role of a priest on Mahashtami around 160 years ago.

Vidyasagar, the Bengali polymath who played a pivotal role in the Bengal Renaissance of the 19th century, was close friends with Sanskrit scholar Madhusudan Tarkapanchanan, a member of the Bhattacharyya family.

Sometime in the 1850s, Vidyasagar had spontaneously taken up the responsibility to perform the puja on Mahashtami, the most auspicious day of the puja, after Tarkapanchanan had fallen ill that day.

Source: The Telegraph

Also Read: For Pranab Da, Pujo Has Always Been About Homecoming