As the Durga Puja is nearing fast, artisans are giving final touches to the idols and the pandals in the capital city, which is also going to witness cultural shows and decorations on various themes like every year.
One of the popular pandals here, put up by the Durga Puja Committee at Bomikhal, will showcase the tableau with the theme Ei Aamari Gaon (This is our village). “Villagers migrating to the urban areas have adopted city and apartment life and forgotten their roots in the villages. Our attempt at building the pandal in this concept is to remind these people about their past,” said Puja Committee secretary Prafulla Kumar Puhan.
At this pandal, artisans of Bhubaneswar are engaged to give the city people a feeling of village life. Craftsmen from Kolkata are doing tent house work and artisans from Cuttack are engaged for making of the idol of Goddes Durga.
Puja organisers of Old Station Bazaar this year are trying to attract children most to their pandal. Students of the BK College of Arts and Crafts are depicting the Jungle Book in the pandal with different scenes and movements of Mowgli, the main character of the Jungle Book, and bear, elephant, tiger, etc., with animated characters.
“For the sake of children, we are trying to depict this story,” said an artist, Dhirendra Nath Thakur. Another artist, Ritendra Mohanty, said, “in view of erratic rains, we have used weatherproof colours.” About a dozen artists are busy using Plaster of Paris, fibre and plastic, thermo cool and different types of colours trying to do justice to the wildlife characters.
At the Saheed Nagar pandal, the architecture of a temple in Kolkata is being replicated with Kolkata artisans being pressed into the job. Secretary of Saheed Nagar Puja Committee Narayan Mohapatra said, “With a view to saving energy, we are using eco-friendly and energy-efficient lights. Cuttack-based artist laxmidhar Rana is making the Durga idol. In fact, Rana is engaged here every year since 1976 as his work is appreciable, Narayan said.
The Nayapalli Puja Committee has adopted a replica of the proposed Iskcon temple at Mayapuri in Mumbai at its pandal. Artisans of Kolkata are also engaged here to construct the pandal and the tent house. “This is the 26th year we are celebrating Durga Puja. Our Puja will be accompanied by a five-day cultural programme and Raban Podi will be held on the Dasami,” said committee president Pabitra Mohan Behera.
Most of the organisers said that as artisans of Odisha are not able to create exotic beauty and lustre at the pandals, they are hiring services of the artisans from outside States.