From childhood trapped in gizmos to Karnataka’s solution to the water crisis, puja themes this year are as varied as can be and they come with a message.
The pandals are getting the finishing touches. The spirit of festivity is palpable. The elaborate Durga puja celebration, once restricted to the houses of the zamindars and the city’s elite, is today a visual extravaganza for one and all. The five-day festival is also a time to let the spirit of creativity take over. We pick the most interesting and quirky ideas for you to visit.
YOUNG AND GADGETED
Childhood lost in a mechanised world. That’s the theme of the pandal set up by Jodhpur Park Sarodiya Utsav Committee, which is celebrating its 58th puja this year. The pandal is being modelled on children’s toys, like building blocks, along with wooden planks in vibrant red, yellow, orange and blue. With a budget of Rs 24 lakh, “we have tried to give a touch of the natural vibrance of a child’s imagination which is being replaced by complicated gadgets and gizmos that the child is exposed to at a very tender age,” says Bandan Raha, the award-winning designer behind the concept. The organisers, who have won several prizes in the past, hope the pandal will be a big draw. Usually, about 15,000 to 17,000 people visit the pandals every hour during the pujas.
PAPER CRAFT ON WOOD
Paper craft is traditionally the art of making intricate designs on paper with the help of a sharp wooden stick. At times, this craft — called Sanji and popular in Mathura — finds expression on banana leaves. But the Selimpur Palli Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee has decided to employ the craft to depict Lord Krishna’s raslila on wooden slabs.
“We have brought Sanji craftsmen from Mathura to assist our pandal artists,” says Partha Roy, a member of the puja committee. Light filtering through the perforated wood will add drama to the pandal, which has taken more than three months to build. The work on the theme, however, started much earlier, in January itself. The eight-foot high idol of the goddess is also in harmony with the theme. The committee, which is organising a Durga puja for the 76th year, hopes the pandal built on a budget of Rs 25 lakh, will pull in the crowds.
LESSONS FROM KARNATAKA
This puja brings a slice of Karnataka to Kolkata. Based on the theme of ‘water conservation in Karnataka’, the Suruchi Sangha Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee in New Alipore is trying to provide a glimpse into the southern state’s century-old practice of conserving this precious natural resource. The pandal is inspired by Karnataka’s Gopuram temple. Its interiors are decorated with masks of the traditional Somana Kunitha dance form, again from south Karnataka. The space around the pandal is being modelled as a village of the Toda tribe. And the idol of Durga resembles Mariamma, the revered goddess of Karnataka. It’s also been painted with lead-free, eco-friendly colours. The budget is around Rs 10 lakh.
THE STORY OF EVOLUTION
The Upanishadic concept of evolution and procreation of life is the central theme of Tridhara Shammilani, near Dehspriya Park in south Kolkata. The theme, based on ‘One and Only Bramho’ or the ‘All-Encompassing Universe’, is being executed by artist Dipak Ghosh. “We want to tell the people about the mythological evolution of the mother goddess whose incarnations we worship,” explains Sandip Chakrabarty, a member of the organising committee. Light and sound effects will also be used to illustrate the concept.
LEAF OUT OF UPANISHADS
The Upanishadic concept of <I>Srishti, shithi, vinasha</I> —evolution, conservation, and destruction — is the theme for the Shiv Mandir Durgotsav Samity near Southern Avenue. Artist Subrata Banerjee has used jute and other natural fibres to execute the concept. The budget is Rs 15 lakh. Organisers of the puja, for whom this is the 74th year, hope to break the previous year’s record of attracting more than two lakh people per day.