Highlighting communal harmony, railing against terrorism and bringing diverse themes like the intricacies of human mind and the spirit of freedom to the fore, 68 community Durga puja organisers paraded their award-winning idols in the West Bengal government organised carnival here on Tuesday ahead of the immersion in the Hooghly river.
The carnival, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in its second year, showcased the prominent idols from the city and the adjoining districts in a colourful road show at the iconic Red Road here, amid tight security.
The three hour long event saw the puja organisers also exhibiting samples of various artistic creations used in their puja marquees on vibrantly decorated tableaux.
All the community pujas selected for the road show, were winners of Bengal's 'Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman' award in various categories.
Banerjee and her lieutenants attended the event along with several celebrities from the city and foreign delegates. Representatives from England and Chile football team, who are in the city to participate in the FIFA U17 World Cup to be kicked off from Friday, were also present.
According to the organisers, apart from the 20,000 spectators gathered on both sides of the road on occasion of the event, more than 50 lakh people all over the globe witnessed the one of a kind Durga Puja immersion carnival through live streaming in the social media.
Many of the age-old community puja organisers came up with tableaux aligned with various current affairs topics. Their floats in the parade also reflected those themes.
The Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, a major crowd puller in city's eastern fringes, was the first off the block having won the award of 'Serar sera' (best of the best). With the marquee resembling the palace from blockbuster "Babubali", the organisers decorated the immersion procession in tune with the theme.
South Kolkata's Rajdanga Nabodoy Sangha emphasised the concept of communal harmony by portraying the peaceful co-existence of six different religions. The organisers put six people, dressed in the traditional attire of six different communities together on a tableau to emphasise that the different paths of religion actually leads to the same destination.
Yuba Moitri Kalighat, another south Kolkata puja that won the award for best branding this year, highlighted their stand against terrorism and celebrated the well being of mankind through their procession.
Tala Park Pratyay themed their tableau on the intricacies of the human mind. Beautiful fireworks marked their procession.
Meanwhile, a number of pujas headed by the representatives from the government and the state's ruling Trinamool Congress, focused on highlighting various state government initiatives.
For instance, the Samaj Sebi Sangha celebrated the the crusade of green in their procession and rallied singing school students who represent the exuberance of youth. They also hailed Bengal government's 'Sabuj Sathi' initiative that presents a girl child with the sprout of a costly plant during her birth.
Pujas like Ekdalia Evergreen and Tala Park Pratyay showcased Banerjee's award winning 'Kanyasree Prakalpa' meant for the girl students.
Celebrating the natural beauty of Bengal, the puja in Salt Lake's FD block depicted a piece of rural Bengal amid the jungle of concrete. The singers in their tableau presented the diverse folk music of Bengal.
The special lighting installation from West Bengal's Chandannagar made the Red Road look like a land of fairy tale. Several celebrities from the Bengali film fraternity, were also seen walking with various puja processions.
--IANS
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