City of Lights, Are You Shining for Everyone?

For one whole night, this city is illuminated with lights and creativity

Light Art in Chandannagar Jagadhatri Puja Procession 2024 / Photo by the author

Every November, Chandannagar is lit with all kinds of lights for five days. The structure in this picture is made of LED and fiber lights. More than a hundred such light boards are crafted throughout the year for a whole-night annual procession on the day of Jagadhatri Puja immersion or visarjan.

It is said to be the second-longest procession in the world after Rio Carnival.

You have heard the ‘City of Stars’ song in La La Land. Now, take a virtual tour of a city where every light tells a story.

The 300-years old story

Jagadhatri (The Hindu Goddess Bearing the World) Puja is celebrated exactly one month after Durga Puja. The tale goes that Maharaja Krishnachandra of Krishnanagar when arrested for not paying taxes on time, missed participating in the entire festivity of Durga Puja as he was released on the last day. Saddened by this, he got a vision from the goddess in his dream of starting Jagadhatri Puja rituals in his native place.

Krishnanagar is around 56 miles away from my hometown Chandannagar. How did the festivities reach here? It is believed that a bigshot landowner named Indranarayan Chowdhury started it after witnessing Maharaja Krishnachandra’s Jagadhatri Puja.

It soon became a culmination of Hindu culture and French admiration. Chandannagar, being a French colony till 1951, got the colonists involved as well. The administration created a central organizing committee, and the tradition continues.

The last day of the festival or Dashami is marked by Jagadhatri idols being loaded on a truck and taken for immersion in the Hooghly River. It begins in the evening as lights are the highlight of the procession. Each idol is led by 3–4 light boards, all on trucks.

The ‘Wizard’ Behind the Lighting Tradition

Spiderman-themed LED Light Board of Palpara Jagadhatri Puja Baroari / Photo by the author in 2023

Sridhar Das, a teenager in the 1950s, was fascinated with the concept of lights. It is understandable, as electricity was new in Chandannagar at that time. His fascination turned into a craft when a Baroari commissioned him to decorate the entry gate with lights. Excited to show his craft to his family, he took them to show his work. To his utter sadness, all the lights were removed because they did not look good. That day, he decided to be the best in the industry.

His light art went on to become the talk of the town the very next year due to sheer brilliance and creativity. The Baroari for which he created the lights were swarmed with a sea of people who visited just to catch a glimpse of the lighting. Sridhar’s creativity and imagination without any formal training led him to set precedence with even creating underwater light art!

The passion of a teenager became a blooming industry very soon, and many became interested in learning the craft from him. A man of tradition, he did not like the idea of LED bulbs and retired soon after their arrival.

Themes That Light Up the Town

From Spiderman to Ramayan and from Climate Change to Wildlife, we have seen a wide-ranging theme on display. Each Baroari comes up with a different theme every year. Here are a few photos from my gallery:

A Dinner Party Theme Light Board / Photo by the author

SwarnaMaa or Gold Goddess of Helapukur wearing gold jewelry from head to toe / Photo by the author

Unicorn and Candy Light Art / Photo by the author

Lined up trucks with creative lighting in Chandannagar / Photo by the author

The lit Kennel / Photo by the author

The idols are quite tall, often the height of one or two-storey buildings.

Bagbajar Chandannagar Jagadhatri Maa / Photo by the author

The arch is decorated with flowers and old bulbs / Photo by the author

Rani Maa or Queen Mother; The second tallest idol in Chandannagar / Photo by the author

It is quite a visual story-telling in Chandannagar that attracts crowds from everywhere. It is quite literally the light of the town. We wait the whole year for five days of Jagadhatri Puja. I hope you can be here someday too. I hate crowds but I don’t mind it during Jagadhatri Puja. :)

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