Her Durga, sans war or weapon imagery, expected to pull crowds
Fierce orator and music aficionado, Bengal’s 'Didi' is in a new avatar this Puja.Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee has conceptualised the theme for this year’s puja at the BakulBagan Sarbajonin Durgautsav in South Kolkata.
Making 'Unnata manabik prithibi’ or ‘Development with a humane face’-- her tagline for the Railways as well --- the theme for the Puja, is apparently meant to send a message of peace to the state, marred in recent months by violence and uncertainty.
“We wanted to showcase Didi’s versatile artistic inclinations and, hence, we approached her for a concept for this year's Puja,” says Suman Bhattacharjee, assistant secretary of the Puja committee. “Our MLA, Subrata Bakshi, helped us to communicate with Didi.”
Banerjee is said to have instantly drawn a rough sketch of the goddess. She coordinated with the pandal artist, Ajit Goswami, regarding intricate details from the pandal decoration and idol to the songs to be played.
This year’s idol at Bakulbagan is a break from the traditional Durga idol. She is depicted as the ‘Dharitri Ma’ or mother earth.
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The Goddess, as conceived by Banerjee, is the symbol of prosperity and harmony. It is an abstract depiction of 10 hands holding the earth. Interestingly, the hands do not hold any weapon, as against the traditional Durga idol. Instead, ‘Om’ and the swastika are alternated, to take the message of peace forward.
The puja was inaugurated by the state governor, M K Narayanan, on Monday in the presence of Trinamool Congress leaders, including Partha Chatterjee and Subrata Mukherjee. Banerjee chose to show up late.
Accompanied by the city mayor, fellow partyman Sovan Chatterjee, she paid a low-key visit at around 11 pm to see her dreams take shape. “She was extremely pleased with the work,” the organisers said.
With substantial funding from sponsors like Star Ananda, Sahara Parivar, ITC and Pratidin, the Puja, with an estimated budget of Rs 12 lakh, is expected to be a crowd puller, worth noting with the Assembly elections next year.
The oraganisers have arranged a 3.2-minute audio-visual presentation to inform the visitors about the concept.