Will it rain? Will it not?

Western sky yesterday evening. Fingers crossed.

Gusty wind flowed the entire day yesterday. It rained at selected places – more in the south of the city than in the north. And suddenly it felt quite cold as if it heralded the onset of winter.

People however kept their fingers firmly crossed. It rained so much this year – and till just a fortnight back – that no one was willing to stick out neck and say this puja will see dry days.

Meanwhile, last-minute touches are being applied at all the pandals and in places where there’ll be heavy footfalls like every year. The papers have come out with their findings about which pujas are the most attractive.

Anandabazar Patrika for example has accorded extraordinary status to only 2 pujas – Belur Math and Bagbazar Sarbojanin. It is apparent they want to steer clear from controversies, and therefore played safe by declaring no third extraordinary puja.

Those they declare as must-sees are Ahiritola Sarbojanin (pandal made in bamboo and leaves), College Square (Sai Baba temple; lighting), Ekdalia Evergreen (Akshardham temple of Ahmedabad), Badamtala Aashar Sangha (theme: heaven), New Alipore Suruchi Sangha (Sabarmati Ashram), Khidirpur 25 Palli (Sun meeting earth), Barisha Club (ceramic effect), Sitalatala Kishore Sangha (world under Maa’s blessings), and Salt Lake FD-Block (Hary Potter’s Hogwarts Palace).