Bye Bye Maa Durga8230;

So the party is over. The ghats of Shobhabazar are abuzz with bhashan crowds. Maa Durga has been smeared with sindoor, fed with sweets and the auspicious pan.

8230; asche bochor abar hobe. Till then Kolkata can keep herself occupied with a host of other distractions

So the party is over. The ghats of Shobhabazar are abuzz with bhashan crowds. Maa Durga has been smeared with sindoor, fed with sweets and the auspicious pan. While many Puja associations of the city will obstinately cling on to the idol for as many days possible, the more traditional ones8217; have already bid her goodbye. But ask any Bengali by heart and he or she will tell you that there is something vaguely embarrassing about the sight of a Durga pratima in a pandal post Dashami. Like a child pretending that it8217;s his birthday everyday.

Which is why, it8217;s best to let go. No matter how hard it is to shake off the Puja hangover, it8217;s time to smell the coffee. So we urge you to stop romanticising empty pandals and the symbolic diyas, and look forward to other, somewhat-neglected events that makes the Kolkata calendar.

Big releases
If you want to escape reality, do what the wise men have always advised you to do, rush to the nearest multiplex. And sink back in your richly upholstered seat while an over-the-hill Salman Khan tries to pull off another shirtless act Hello. Or Vin Diesel8217;s last-ditch effort to a Hollywood career Babylon AD. If both these films don8217;t seem inspiring enough, then you have a host of biggies to look forward to in the coming months. The Diwali releases this year include Madhur Bandekar8217;s 8220;unflinching8221; take on the fashion industry, innovatively titled Fashion Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, and the multi-starrer Gol Maal Returns Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi. The other big releases include Subhash Ghai8217;s Yuvraaj Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Karan Johar8217;s Dostana Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham. Hollywood beckons you with the long awaited Russell Crowe-Leonardo Di Caprio starrer Body of Lies.

Kali Puja, Diwali and others
Baro mashe tero parbon 13 festivals in 12 months. Need we say more? Yes, drawing alpona in Lakshmi Puja, after the grand celebrations of Durga Puja, may seem a wee bit tame, but there is always Kali Puja. Clubbed together with Diwali, this festival is one of the most dazzling festivals of them all. If you haven8217;t already burnt a hole in your pocket with all the puja shopping, then you can indulge yourself with some more retail therapy. After all, the shopping malls and departmental stores insists that you should.

Christmas
If there is any other festival that rivals the gaiety of Durga Puja in Kolkata, it has to be Christmas. A decked up Park Street, piles of plum cakes and ridiculously scraggly Christmas trees in almost every Kolkata household 8212; Kolkata sure knows how to embrace the yuletide spirit. If two and a half months8217; wait seems too long, then look at it this way, Christmas means winter, winter means a new wardrobe, wardrobe means shopping.