It is that time of the year again. Despite the dust kicking off all the feet walking into Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park, a whiff of the ‘pujo pujo gondho’ (scent of Durga Puja) is unmissable — a heady mix of the sweet aroma of blooming shiuli flowers, the earthy smell from the clay idols and the woody notes of the ‘dhuno’ (incense made from Sal tree resin). The veil has been lifted, and you know Durga is home.Three out of the over 10 puja pandals — K Block (cooperative), B-Block and Mela Ground — in the predominantly Bengali neighbourhood in South Delhi mark their golden jubilees. The celebrations began on the fourth day of Navratri — two days earlier than usual — with cultural programmes.For this milestone year, all the three pandals have dipped into their Bengali roots for the themes. If Mela Ground is turning to Bengal’s glorious past to reimagine a colonial era ‘rajbari’ (a palace or a mansion), K-Block is celebrating Bengal’s rich cultural legacy by recreating the historic fortress from Satyajit Ray’s 1974 film — Sonar Kella.The puja pandal at B-Block, on the other hand, is going back to the roots, quite literally. Their theme is ‘the soil’. “In this golden year, the soil is the true gold,” reads their tag line.“Over the last several years, there has been an attempt towards presenting Durga Puja in a modern way. Pandals experiment to make the themes more contemporary. We did not want that at all,” says Avik Mitra, who has been part of the Mela Ground Puja Managing Committee for the last 23 years.“Through our pandal, we wanted people to remember our traditions. The design of our pandal is inspired by the Mahishadal Rajbari or the Phoolbagh palace of East Midnapore —a forgotten royal seat from 16th-century Bengal, where kings and queens hosted Durga Puja not as a festival but as a tradition wrapped in discipline, opulence and deep faith,” Mitra adds.The regal ambience of the British-era structure manifests at Mela Ground in the form of the lofty ionic columns bearing ornate patterns in gold. The traditional ‘thakur dalan’, a sacred courtyard often present in rajbaris for people to gather and worship during annual festivals, has also been recreated. The idols — Durga with her four children — have been made in the ‘daaker saaj’ (a decorative style using silver foil and sequins, materials that would come from abroad via daak or post ), historically used by the elite rajbaris of Bengal.Story continues below this adEven as West Bengal witnesses a high degree of experimentation during the festive season, with pandals having contemporary themes, often impressively linked to the news cycle — from pollution of Ganga to Operation Sindoor — Pujo in Delhi seems to be a time for reminiscing all things quintessentially Bengali.This year, that includes the once popular folk-theatre form of jatra. “I remember about 20-25 years ago, we used to have jatra during Durga Puja in Delhi… but over the years the tradition discontinued. This year, we wanted to bring back that tradition — a jatra titled ‘Kapalkundala’ based on Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel of the same name — and continue all the others that we have been following over the years,” says Dipayan Mazumdar, Vice President, Kashmere Gate Durga Puja.In its 116th year, Delhi’s oldest Durga Puja committee is in fact rooted in traditions. The idol remains the same every year — in daaker saaj and ek chaal, which means all the five idols are placed on a single frame. It is brought into the pandal in a bullock cart.“This role has been passed on through generations. The father and grandfather of the person in charge of the cart today used to bring the idol earlier.It is the same with artisans decorating the pandal and the idol,” says Mazumdar.Story continues below this adHe adds that this year, the reins of the Pujo have been handed over to the “young brigade”, led by Manish Mukherjee, who is the son of Mohini Mohan Mukherjee, the owner of Annapurna Bhandar in Chandni Chowk, the oldest Bengali sweet shop in the Capital. “All the sweets during the festivities will be supplied by them. In every aspect of our Durga Puja, we try to keep the element of tradition alive,” Mazumdar says.Jatra will also be at the heart of the celebrations at the Arambagh Puja Samiti in Delhi’s Paharganj. The 76-year-old Durga Puja, this year, has joined hands with the Circle Theatre Company to present the theme: ‘The journey began with Shri Chaitanya: The soul-stirring Jatra Pala of Bengal’.The pandal design captures the evolution of the art form through the ages —from the open-air operas in the Middle Ages to the modernisation of dialogues by ‘Pala Samrat’ (king of dialogues) Brojendra Kumar Dey to the advent of biographies and political plays — while paying tribute to legendary actors such as Boro Phone, Panchu Sen, Jyotsna Dutta, Chabi Roy and Khokhan Biswas among others.The idol too reflects the essence of the theme —- creating a bridge between the past and the present. Created out of different props used in jatra — swords for arms, kajal lata (traditional kohl applicator) for the crown — it has a futuristic appearance to it, making it a perfect combination of tradition and modernity.Story continues below this ad“We wanted to reintroduce this vibrant folk theatre to society, reminding us of its rich artistry, emotional power and its place in the heart of India’s cultural history,” Abhijit Bose, Chairman, Arambagh Puja Samiti.