'Ticket to Durga Puja' re-unites people

Re-connecting people with their loved ones after years during the Durga Puja, 'Ticket to Durga Puja' is an initiative to bridge shores.

Trinanjan Mitra, travelling from Toronto to his hometown Kolkata after 14 long years, has been nominated by members representing three generations in his family including his 92-year old grandmother for the 'Ticket to Durga Puja' initiative of Red FM, Kolkata. 

Mitra, who could not come to the city for the longest period, had been contributing to his locality s Durga puja celebration every year but could not be present himself. He is now able to do pandal hopping with the family members this year again (a must-do for every Bengali to see different types of pandals and idols) being chosen for 'Ticket to Durga Puja'.

Elderly couple Ashith Ranjan Das and Ritika Das travelled from Assam to meet their son Tapas Das and his wife.

Tapas nominated his parents to the 'Ticket to Durga Puja' as he was unable to bring them earlier to the city due to his poor economic conditions.

Arpan Naskar from Sharjah, nominated by his parents to the same 'Ticket to Durga Puja campaign', works in a jewellery factory in Dubai.

His father, a day labourer got his daughter married this year with Arpan's entire savings and the young man could not come home for the second time.

He is now spending Maha Saptami with parents and sister and brother-in-law.

Another 'Ticket to Durga Puja' winner are the parents of Pune-based parents of taxi-driver Bhimrao More who is living in the city for the last 20 years.

More, who married a Bengali girl 5 years ago, is meeting his parents after 7 years as he was unable to bring them here earlier due to financial reasons.

Near ones of all the nominated winners for 'Ticket to Durga Puja' campaign were present at the announcement programme of the campaign on maha chaturthi day.

The channel paid the travelling fares of the winners of the 'Ticket to Durga Puja' to come to Kolkata.

"The 'Ticket to Durga Puja' winners and their near ones were today taken to different popular pandals in the city as part of the 'Puja Parikrama' by the FM channel.

Last year the Season 1 of Ticket to Durga Puja: Pardes to Swades received massive success as the whole city rejoiced, when the disjointed family members and loved ones were reunited on one platform, a spokesperson of the FM channel which took the initiative said.

In the second league of 'Ticket to Durga Puja', "we also aim to reach out to those people who are not only away from their families but also have to serve the society 24x7, even when every Bengali is busy rejoicing.

"Hence, apart from the separated families, we are also reaching out to fire-fighters, police, electricians, medical attendants who are busy at work and the chosen one's family members are also included in the puja parikrama," he said.