Durga Puja pandal hopping

It is that time of year when Kolkata comes alive with the sounds of conch, gong and dhaak. The air is filled with the sweetness of chants and the sublime experience of the maha aarti. On the eve of Dusshera, Soham Kar and Anindya Saha, our team members from Kolkata bureau, take you to some of the best pandals in Kolkata to help you get a taste of the festive fervour. We also get you a glimpse of a few celeb-frequented Durga Puja pandals in Mumbai. Take a look…

A portrayal of triumph of good over evil.

A beautiful play of lights that gives the creation an animated character.

Kumari Puja (left) where a little girl is being worshipped as a goddess and another creation (right) that looks inspired by sci-fi movies.

A beautiful Durga maa idol in one of the pandals.

A portrayal of mahishasura mardini - the one who killed demon mahishasura.

An earthy installation

A tram and haath gaadi set up outside one of the pandals, giving you a glimpse into a day in Kolkata.

A grand entrance to one of the pandals.

Colours, lights and so festive - decoration at another pandal

And it gets a little tribal here

Part of the decoration at one of the pandals

And now on to some celeb-frequented pandals in Mumbai...

Sharbani Mukherjee at one of the pandals in Mumbai.

Bappi Lahiri's son Bappa with wife.

Vidya Balan poses at one of the pandals.