Debayan Roy Part 1 – The Festival Begins The Chatterjee bari stood like an aging sentinel in the heart of north Kolkata, its moss-streaked pillars and wrought-iron balconies bearing the weight of two centuries. On any other day, it was a decaying mansion where pigeons nested in broken cornices and the smell of damp walls clung to the air like an old cough. But now, in the first week of autumn, the house seemed to breathe again. Lights hung from balconies, drums beat in the courtyard, and relatives filled the old rooms with chatter and anticipation. Durga Puja had arrived.…