I’ve been a leader for over 30 years with many intense challenges and many successes and a few failures. Here’s a new and unique one I faced over the last 4 months!

We have an annual family Durga Puja which in 2025 completed its 79th edition. When my cousin Debu Mukerji passed in Mar25, the onus of being a Joint Secretary and being a key leader for this event became mine.

Just for perspective, the North Bombay Sarbajanin Durga Puja is HUGE! With over 10 lac visitors (5 lac on the penultimate day alone), visited by dozens of high-profile celebrities, a sit down “Bhog” fed to over 15000 people, a budget exceeding half a million $ and over a million Instagram engagements – there is little doubt that this is easily the largest, most high-profile Durga Puja in the world!

And the unique leadership challenges include:

 

1. It’s organized by a committee of members of whom only about 20 are core and trained in management.

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2. The positions like Joint Secretary are honorary, not official, not voted, simply loosely agreed. Authority and especially respect are always earned but, in this case, they need to be earned daily!. So with such a management set up, there a few who actually shoulder responsibility and very many who are free to comment, question, critique! And I’m NOT criticizing – merely commenting, human ego, especially in an unorganized management set up is an aggressive element of nature! And a completely voluntary team who are all putting in the extra yards despite successful careers needs a delicate touch.

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3. Celebrities come in droves and managing their security, their stature – err, ego – and their entourage are all rather complex. And we Indians – at all levels – go completely insane seeing a top Bollywood celebrity!

 

4. The entire budget is raised via sponsorships – every year – and with over a 100 sponsors, managing their unique demands again needs next level fine tuning

 

5. Getting a venue – which in crowded Mumbai is tough, for a massive event such as this is tougher and within budget but blessed by the myriad authorities and powers is the toughest – we are grateful to SNDT University for their venue and help!

 

6. There are several types and classes of people attending – the general public, the sponsors representatives, the members, the members’ guests, the press, minor celebrities, major celebrities and their entourage, performers and their tech staff – and each category needs special management

 

7. This is a religious event with the necessary religious sensitivities, PLUS:
    a. There is logistics and security for a million people
    b. Food for thousands daily

    c. Crowd management, managing both religious fervours, as well as celebrity fervour

    d. Entertainment events with top performers with high quality tech

 

And all this in a highly temporary set up – indeed on marshy land – which needs to be set up and be dismantled within 30 days – but with the grandeur a high-profile event such as this demands!

8. And lastly, public scrutiny! With the celebrities and the brilliant PR we did and the million plus Instagram engagements, every movement is analyzed and commented on!

Indeed on the face of it, it’s just a Durga Puja but in reality it needs a very high level of management and the team, while temporary, needs intense leadership!

Also – emerging from this event are several unique leadership lessons – quite different from the usual corporate ones, which are worth noting.

 

• The stature, the mounting, the production and indeed the glamour of the event are important – which is the reason the members and leaders feel inspired to participate

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• In this kind of a loose management set up – crises and clashes on turfs and norms and random hearsay are regular and need immediate and effective resolution

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• Staying calm and yet sharp, micromanagement but with a broader and large hearted view of everything – large or petty – is vital

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• Crowd management is a science and a skill and religious and celebrity fervor need very superior abilities. Investing in technology and expertise and constant overseeing is needed

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• Food quality and quantity cannot be compromised ever – we are Indians!

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• Anger and high pressure in such events is best managed by folded hands and humility

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• Budget management is vital – daily!

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• Communication and constant & vigorous communication is a must

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• Environment management and managing the various authorities is a separate stream of continuous management

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• EVERYONE is important – remember, it’s religious event and God belongs to everyone – and hence authority and direction needs a velvet, yet firm touch! Especially managing a team of Volunteers – some high profile successful careerists in their own right, some senior citizens, some energetic and untrained, some home makers, a few with their own agenda and indeed large ego but all very enthusiastic – needs a delicate combination of aura and delicacy, authority and affection, aggression and calm!

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All in all, this experience was completely unique and challenging, teaching new and first time skills and drawing on every experience on people and event management one’s ever had – then topping it with some new ones! And thank God (literally) that it was a huge success!

CREDITS:

 

Supratim Sarkar, Navanit Narayan, Ayan Mukerji, Samrat Mukerji and so many more like Souvik Banerjjee, Prasun Sikdar, Arjun Sengupta, Mainak Charaborty, Arup Khan, Anandita Kanjilal, Sunandita Kanjilal, Ishita Senguta, Romita Das, Mala Navanit, Shivdutt Das, Rema Lahiri who shouldered various responsibilities and were each vital to the grand success of this event!

 

And around 50 other “silent” participants who come at 5am to prepare for the Puja, who man the gates to regulate the public, who serve bhog to the thousands, who silently play a critical role.

And our celebrities like Krishna Mukerji, Rani Mukerji, Kajol and of course Ayan Mukerji need a special mention for drawing in celebrities and crowds, alike!

And lastly our fantastically loyal, tireless and competent team members and vendors like Pappu bhai, Kiran, Prasanna, Vinay, Pratap, Gajendra, Vinay, Sunil, Abhishek, Nagesh and the wonderful Ujjwal Purohit