KOLKATA: The premier city clubs are doing their bit to celebrate the biggest festival of Bengal maintaining the Covid and other protocols. Both the heritage and new-age clubs of the city have planned special menus for Durga Puja along with programmes involving members.
While Calcutta Rowing Club organized ‘Agamani’ to mark the beginning of Durga Puja on Saturday, ILSS, Calcutta Club had organized special programmes earlier in the week. Tolly Club and newage clubs like Calcutta Metropolitan Club, Princeton Club would prepare a special menu on Puja days.
Secretary of Calcutta Rowing Club, Chandan Roychowdhury, said that like earlier it has organized Agamani involving members, their spouse and children. “At the one-and-a-half hour programme, we maintained all the Covid protocols and NGT guidelines,” he added. CRC will also have a special Bengali menu on all the Puja days — Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami. “We are also relaxing the dress code for Pujas till October 20,” he added.
Joint secretary of ILSS Arabinda Roy said they celebrated Agamani on October 8. “We used to perform Durga Puja also earlier but following protocols and orders in the Lake area we have discontinued that. But we will have special menu on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami. The dress code too will be relaxed,” he said.
Calcutta Club president Partha Sarathi Ghosh told TOI that it had celebrated Agamani on October 5 itself with all protocols in place. “We also felicitated three of our veteran members who are stalwarts in their respective fields. The club will arrange for Puja lunch on Saptami and Nabami. There will be a special menu,” he added.
Tolly Club CEO Anil Mukherjee said that it would organize a Bijoya Sanmilani later. “We will also have special Puja menu. There will be Hilsa festival as well,” he added.
Manager (operation) of Princeton Club, Sanjay Karmakar, said that on all four Puja days, there will be special menu. Eastern Metropolitan Club is also planning a special menu, said secretary Sanjib Ghosh.
Premier clubs reopened their restaurants and bars along with some sports activities following the relaxation of guidelines by the state government in the middle of June.
