We wanted to change that.”Īccording to Bhattacharjee, since their venue has a lot of open spaces, even those not comfortable around animals shouldn’t have a problem. It’s the same when it comes to pandal hopping during Durga Puja. In many families, members go for holidays separately to ensure that someone is always with the pet. “Usually, in families with pets, at least one person has to stay back with the animals when members go out. “Our reason for opening our pandal to pets was to make sure that the entire family, pets included, can be a part of the celebration,” explains Sayantan Bhattacharjee. The facilities for four-legged visitors are almost similar at the Behala Club pandal, to be inaugurated on 28 September. Our idea is to promote the adoption of Indie breeds,” says Raj.Īpart from the theme and the welcoming of pets to the pandals, the organisers are in talks with animal welfare organisations to ensure the presence of vets at the venue in case of emergencies. Separate feeding and littering areas have also been created, adds Raj. “Most people in the country still prefer foreign breeds for pets. The idol is not adorned with the deity’s customary or traditional weapons, keeping with the homely atmosphere that Raj wants to create.ĭoodles on the pandal walls also portray the theme. “A voiceover narrates the canine’s plea to the deity - if Durga can be worshipped with her four children, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik, and Ganesh, why can’t a street dog be allowed to coexist peacefully with her children?” asks Raj, a reference to impounding by civic authorities. Raj’s idea for the Bidhan Sarani pandal includes the installation of a dog sitting in front of the goddess. This time, this seemed like the most realistic idea,” says Surojit Mitra, a committee member. “Every year, we seek ideas from artists for the theme of the celebration and pick the one we like. The theme of the Bidhan Sarani Atlas Club puja this year is ‘ Anant Ashray’, or the eternal shelter, says Raj, the planner of the theme. Young pet parents at the Behala club Durga puja pandal under construction | Special arrangement The Bidhan Sarani Atlas Club and Behala Club, are ensuring that human visitors need not leave behind their animal companions. A slain buffalo, the asura’s alter ego, lies at the goddess’ feet. The deities, Durga and her family, are accompanied by their animal bahans or rides - lion, mouse, peacock, owl, and duck. A canine’s pleaĪnimals have always been a part of Durga Puja pandals, though in their clay avatars. If they get scared or agitated seeing my dogs in the pandal and kick at them or throw something…I wouldn’t want to expose them to such a scenario.”įor him, a better way to promote an animal-friendly society would be if puja organisers restricted themselves to creating awareness about pets, especially Indie breeds and the need for their adoption. Also, there are many in India who are still not comfortable around animals. “Kolkata puja pandals are crowded, noisy, and chaotic,” he explains. I would never do it to my canine kids,” says Kolkata-based pet parent Suvarghya Dutta.įor Dutta, who is a parent to three canines - Portia, Martini, and Coffee - the reluctance to take his ‘kids’ to the pandal stems from two factors. “As a pet parent, I don’t think taking animals to pandals is a good idea. Not all are ready to take their pets to the pandals, though. Or else, they would leave him at home with an attendant. Once avid pandal-hoppers, Chadha says that since adopting Pepper six-and-a-half years back, someone would have to wait with him in the car while the family visited pandals.
The pandal will be a novel experience for him, and he can get a darshan.” “My Shih Tzu, Pepper, has been to the gurudwara with us many times but never to a temple because I wasn’t confident about whether he will be allowed in. “This is happy news,” says pet parent Sonia Chadha. For the rest of the days, the organisers say they would have a helpline number on which pet parents may contact them to inform them of their wish to visit the pandal. Pets may enter through the special entry gate, accompanied by one parent.
The pandal was opened exclusively for pet parents for a three-day period between Pratipada - the day after Mahalaya, which marks the beginning of the Debipaksha or Navaratri period - and Tritiya, the third day of Navaratri. And yet, there was such a controversy over a dog visiting the temple,” says Raj. “Kedarnath is a shrine of the deity Shiva, who is also referred to as Pashupatinath or the lord of animals.
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