- Dedicated to mothers, the pandal saw a whopping 1.5 Lacs+ people visit the venue and enjoy the festivities
Kolkata, 10 October 2022: The last ten days of the most awaited festival in Kolkata, Durga Puja, were celebrated with a lot of zest and joy by people of the city. Aashirvaad Atta, India’s leading packaged atta brand, as part of their week-long Durga Puja festivities, curated special activities which included an Augmented Reality (AR)-enabled ‘Amaar Ma’ pandal within a pandal at Bagh Bazaar, which was a sight to behold. The brand’s pandal honoured and encouraged mothers to recognise and embrace their inner Ma Durga with the help of beautiful AR filters that brought to life their Dashbhuja Avatar. Dedicated to mothers, the pandal saw a whopping 1.5 Lacs+ people visit the venue and enjoy the festivities.
This year for Durga Puja, Aashirvaad Atta continued to build on its iconic campaign, ‘Eta Amaar Ma,’ which celebrates mothers’ ‘Onek Roop, Onek Energy’. Aashirvaad’s Amaar Ma Pandal did not have a traditional idol. Instead, AR filters were used to make the real-life mothers visiting the pandal, the Ma Durga of Aashirvaad pandal. ‘Dashbhuja’ avatar of mothers were projected on a life-size screen, bringing to life all the multitasking that they do every day. This pandal was a tribute to the fearless, strong and compassionate Ma Durgas in our lives-our mothers.
The pandal also featured other engaging activities such as Uludhwani, high jump to ‘ring-a-bell’, and extracting the Trishul from a magnetic platform. On the day of Dashami, thousands of women gathered to participate in Sindoor Khela and were seen dancing and rejoicing to the tunes of Dhak. The pandal was adorned with renowned Patachitra art showcasing various avatars of mothers.
Celebrity guest Priyanka Sarkar inaugurated the pandal and participated in numerous activities on the first day of the festival. This was followed by a beautifully choreographed Jago dance performed by children from Dreams of Life Welfare Foundation, a children’s NGO, honouring mothers from old-age homes. In the following days, the brand also organised culturally rich programmes such as storytelling through theatre, Dhaki dance, Dhunuchi dance among others.
Mr. Ganesh Sundararaman, SBU Chief Executive – Staples, Snacks and Meals, ITC Ltd said, “ITC Ltd.’s ‘Aashirvaad has always saluted the multifaceted women and the myriad avatars they don in their daily lives. They accomplish everything they set their minds to with energy and enthusiasm, and genuinely symbolize the modern-day Ma Durga. Aashirvaad’s ‘Amaar Maa’ pandal was a magnificent tribute to all the dynamic, active, and multifaceted women of Bengal.”