The elaborate animated lighting that frames the pandals comes almost entirely from Chandannagar, a former French settlement about forty kilometres up the Hooghly. The craft began there with the town’s own Jagaddhatri Puja and became an industry: frames of bulbs, now LED, wired into sequences that tell a story across dozens of panels.
Chandannagar lighting goes to pujas across India and to Bengali festivals abroad. The families who make it are known by name in the trade.
The names
Places, pujas and people, with what each one is| Name | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Chandannagar light makers1900s | Chandannagar, Hooghly district | The workshops that supply the lighting for most of Bengal’s pujas. |
| Sridhar Das1940s | Chandannagar | One of the names credited with developing the animated light frame. |
| Babu Pal | Chandannagar | A well-known Chandannagar lighting house. |
| Chandannagar Jagaddhatri Puja1700s | Chandannagar | The festival the craft grew from; held in November, and worth seeing for the lighting alone. |
| Chandannagar Strand | on the Hooghly | The riverfront promenade of the old French town. |
| Sreebhumi Sporting Club1970s | Lake Town | Among the heaviest users of Chandannagar lighting. |
| College Square1948 | College Street | The lighting reflected in the tank is the point of this puja. |
| Santosh Mitra Square1936 | Sealdah | Known for very large lighting installations. |
Worth knowing
- Chandannagar is about forty kilometres from Kolkata and reachable by train.
- Its own Jagaddhatri Puja in November is when the lighting is at its best.
- The frames are now LED but the sequencing craft is unchanged.
- College Square and Santosh Mitra Square are the best lighting in the city itself.
More on Durga Puja
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