Pandal hopping with children or older parents
Which night, which part of the city, and the small precautions that make the difference in a crowd of a million.
Durga Puja is a family festival, but the famous pandals on a peak night are not built for small children or anyone who cannot stand for long. With a little planning you can still take the whole family.
Choose the day and the hour
- Panchami and Shashthi are far calmer than Saptami to Navami, and most pandals are ready by then.
- On any day, the afternoon (from about 2 pm) is the gentlest time. The evening rush starts around 6 pm.
- Avoid the biggest names, such as Sreebhumi, Deshapriya Park and Santosh Mitra Square, on peak evenings. Their queues can run past an hour.
Choose the area
Salt Lake is the easiest: wide roads, footpaths, block pujas a few minutes apart, and plenty of places to sit. In the city, park pujas such as New Alipore Children’s Park have more open space than lane pujas.
Precautions that matter
- Put a card in every child’s pocket with your name and phone number, and photograph them before you leave so you know what they were wearing.
- Agree a meeting point at every pandal: a gate, a stall, a lamp post. Phones are often useless in a crowd.
- Carry water, snacks, any medicines, and a small torch for dark lanes between pujas.
- Use the metro rather than a car: roads close in the afternoon and you will be dropped at a barricade. Use the station lifts where they are available.
- If anyone gets separated or unwell, go to the nearest police kiosk or puja committee help desk. Emergency: 112.
Keep it short
Three or four pandals and a meal is a good evening with children. Plan the route on the map so you are not walking back and forth, and pick pujas close to one metro station.