Residents of Uttarpara in Hooghly woke up to two of their thoroughfares being taken over illegally for a wedding in a Trinamul minister's family.
The pandal for the wedding of labour minister Purnendu Basu's daughter took over almost the entire AD Pal Road, off the busy GT Road, and Joy Shankar Lane.
The asphalt was covered by green carpets and rows of chairs were placed on either side, making the roads out of bounds for countless commuters and local residents.
The residents of the 60-odd houses and several housing estates dotting the two roads had a tough time as the entrances to their premises had been blocked by curtains.
When Metro visited the spot, private guards apparently employed by the leader's family and police were seen stopping people on bicyles or motorbikes at the entry to AD Pal Road and Joy Shankar Lane and forcing them to take long detours.
Nine-year-old Sudeshna Choudhury of Uttarpara had never walked into a star hotel in her life but her very neighbourhood turned into one on Friday evening with soft carpets covering the cobbled roads, cushioned chairs lining the bylanes and building walls covered with spotless fabric.
"This carpet and the chairs are so soft and there are so many lights. I am not invited but this place looked to alluring that I just came with my friends to check it out," said little Sudeshna, who lives on the other side of GT Road.
Sudeshna was not alone. Many from the neighbourhood came for a feel of the place in the early evening.
"I have never seen such arrangements," said the little girl, wearing a torn frock but soaking into the grand preparations all around.
After all, the occasion � wedding of Naxalite trade union leader-turned Trinamul labour minister Purnendu Bose's daughter Suchismita � demanded a total make over.
"This is a grand affair. Over 1,200 people have been invited," said an employee of the Paramout Decorators, which had supplied 500 sparkling cushioned chairs, 500 plastic chairs and 60 sofas to the A.D. Pal Road home of the Bose, who as a Naxalite leader had once dreamt of a classless society.
Bose, however, changed his course as extreme Left politics faced challenges from the ruling Left in Bengal. Some of his old comrades, however, stressed that he retained the tag of a trade union activist till he came close to Mamata during her movement against land acquisition in Singur.
The importance of Bose in the cabinet was evident to the people of Uttarpara as local people watched how Dola Sen, firebrand state president of the All India Trinamul Trade Union Congress, was looking after the overall management.
"I have heard that Mamata Banerjee and several other ministers are scheduled to come… I have already seen Sadhan Pande, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Javed Khan," said a young man, who had come to spot celebrities at the venue.
Mamata � who had been at east Midnapore till 3.30pm -- did not turn up till ?????. (PLS CHECK WITH AMRITA BEFORE RELEASE… HE IS TRACKING)
Cars of all makes started converging on this nook of Uttarpara by twilight and were promptly directed to a field, off G.T. Road. To add to the five star feel, microphone and speakers were pressed into service as the evening wore on to call the drivers out when the guests were ready to leave.
The decoration that started right from G.T. Road left no stone unturned to pep up the glamour quotient of the wedding mela. One had to enter A.D. Pal Road from its intersection with G.T. Road but guests and even residents couldn't be blamed for missing the slip of a road that seemed suddenly to have experienced the Midas touch ' it had been turned into a magic tunnel from the fairy tales.
One had to enter it passing under a grand assortment of flowers and between a pair of faux elephants with their trunks curled up in welcome.
Starting from here, for 350 ft of road, right up Shiv Narayan Road via Joy Shankar Lane and, the blacktop was covered with a carpet, significantly green in colour. The walls on the buildings on both sides were covered with stainless textile in pink and sky blue hue that assumed a pretty tinge once the decorative strings of green and yellow lights converging over the pathway came on after dusk.
Curtains were used at the entrance of these buildings, moving which aside residents had to enter and leave the apartments for the time being. The entire length of this splendid corridor was lined on both sides with chairs sporting maroon cushions.
These lights on the corridor were complemented by as many as 24 chandeliers on this long artificial corridor alone.
There were more chandeliers in the dining areas ' as many as seven in the VIP dining area and three enormous ones in the room where groom Abhishek Sarkar sat.
The food was a less grand affair though with the likes of mutton curry and topse fry on the non-veg menu and palak paneer, rice Dehradun and Kofta curry on the veg.
ends
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