The horrifying episode of December 16, 2012, may be nine months in the past, but that the debate the incident sparked on the actual status of women's safety in the national capital is very much alive is evident in Chittaranjan Park D Block Durga Puja's engagement with the festival this year.
For this year, the 17-year-old puja has decided to lend its voice to the issue of women's safety and the urgent need for the city which has had a woman chief minister for the past 15 years to give back power to its women.
"What better platform than a festival to engage people in thinking about the problems facing women vis-a-vis their rights and empowerment... A lot of that boils down to the physical fact of how safe this city is for women," said Debajyoti Basuroy, a youth associated with the organisation of the puja.
"Durga puja is about celebrating womanhood. It is about the strength of a woman. We are trying to place the symbolism in today's context," he added.
Thus, morning of the first main day of the pujas, Saptami on October 11, the D block puja space will see a street play performance by noted practitioner Arvind Gaur and his Asmita theatre group.
"We are trying to link the call for women's rights with the Durga puja. The message is that you worship her but do you give her the same place in society," said Gaur, the recipient of the Karamveer Puraskar for being an Artiste for Change.
The play, entitled 'Dastak' (Knock at the Door), is an effort to touch upon every aspect of empowerment by exploring challenges like domestic violence, workplace harassment, sexual abuse and rape, Gaur said.
Women are also the theme of the quiz on the following day, Ashtami, arguably the marquee day of the pujas.
"We're expecting more than 150 teams competing in the event, called 'Quiz-D'. This year, the questions will have a women's theme in support of the stand for empowerment," Basuroy said.
