On Kali Puja night, whole families walk Jessore Road together, stopping at each glowing pandal to call out to cousins, neighbors and old classmates. Friends from Kolkata and nearby districts arrive by local train to join them, and every crossing turns into a reunion.
Away from the festival, Barasat is a district town of colleges, shops and commuter platforms, with the tomb of Ekdil Shah in Kazipara and roads running east toward Chandraketugarh and the river at Taki. Summers are hot and humid, the monsoon runs from June to mid-September, and winters are dry and mild. A Local Friend walks beside you through the crowd, matching your steps from one pandal to the next.
