I'm strictly no-veg: Abir Chatterjee

Abir Chatterjee on judging pandals and nightlong adda with friends
Favourite Puja
I don't have a favourite Puja as such. When we used to live in Salt Lake, our neighbourhood Puja topped my most favourite list. Now, I have no para favourites. However, I love the Shobhabazar Rajbari Puja. I was introduced to it in Class XI or XII and it continues to be my favourite. It has my college memories attached to it, there's something nostalgic and old-world about this Puja.Also, the first bandhobi I took there was my wife, Nandini.
Festive Routine
This year, I have been judging a lot of pujas. In fact, in four days, I must have done five such events. So I travelled the length and breadth of the city, getting a peek into the best of pujas. While that was fun, the only hitch is that there is nothing left of my knees after travelling for such long hours in a car. I've now realized that it's more difficult to give numbers than scoring points in exams. On Navami, 11 members of our MBA gang plan to meet up over a nightlong adda session. And yes, we have a new entrant here, a two-year-old member, that is!
Tuck Talk
I'm strictly no-veg. But what is Puja without bhog? So, that's a must-have. Ma has said, 'Ranna bondho'. So we have to look for options. I feast on phuchka and pork during Pujas. Many go for Bengali cuisine during this time, but my point is, Bangali khabar khete hole barite khabo. I am in the mood to try other flavours during the festival season.
Dress Code
This year, I am into kurta-pyjama and jeans and kurta mode. In fact, I was hard-pressed for shopping time when Nandini praye kan dhore ek dinei shopping koriyechhe. She takes care of my wardrobe. She likes me in formals but that's not to be during Pujas. Comfort matters to me the most.
Best Puja Memory
We were in XII when five-six of us hired a car with the little pocket money we got. I had something like 200. But one of our friends came from a really wealthy home and always had more money than the rest of us. He paid a major share. If he asked for a treat, we said we didn't have the money. This guy used to put the money in our wallets and say, 'Now you can treat me'. We hired the car on Ashtami and went pandal-hopping. We even waded through water near Golpark. We had taken an oath that we would return with more than one girlfriend. Girlfriend toh door ki baat, we couldn't even approach a girl.