Close-knit neighbourhoods might be organising their own intimate Durga pujas but the charm of the city's oldest pandals is something you might not want to give a miss. Riya Sharma lists the must-visit sites
The fear of being choked in traffic or maybe you’re lazy to travel to different parts of the city for pujoIJ People have many reasons not to travel to the oldest pandals in the city. But, one may find it worth the wait once they get to know what the pandals in are offering.
You will not regret traversing on a cramped road when you will witness the grandeur that these majestically designed pandals have in store for you. Whether it be huge sculptures and decoration of Arambagh Durga Puja Samity, or eco-friendly pandal by Minto Road Puja Samiti and of course, the oldest one from, Kashmere Gate Durga Puja Samiti, these pandals will leave you spellbound by their themes or the traditional way of organising pujo.
As we celebrate Ma Durga during the puja, the pandals aims to enlighten and motivate women of the present era to rise above the discrimination and injustice.
This time, the pandal at Arambagh has stood out not only with its theme which aims to encourage women, but also the decorations that have been done accordingly. Once you enter the pandal, you see a sculpture of a tribal woman kneeling with a bow in her hand. “For us, she represents power. In our culture, women are the ones who are dominated but it is reversed in the tribal community. Women are boldest there and they dominate. This is the message we are trying to spread,” said general secretary, Subroto Chaudhari.
As you enter the pandal, you see images of inspiring women like late astronaut Kalpana Chawla, Malala Yousafzai, et al. to inform people that we need a society where women play a central role. “These are all those women who empowered themselves and rose above the shackles of patriarchy. They are all established women who are role-models for all of us,” added Chaudhari.
When we saw the idol, we could see apratima that was more aggressive and looked quite different from the usual idols. “We wanted the pratima to be like that. Women accept behaviour and attitude towards them the way it comes. Through this, we are trying to inform them that if you don’t like something, you should stand against it. You need to become aggressive and protest if the need comes,” he shared.
Another striking feature of the pandal is the Baniyan tree where the feet of a woman have been tied-up with a rope. To encourage women to live a life that is beyond injustice, the committee members during their inauguration asked women to take an oath to fight against inequality.
He further shared, “The society considers prostitutes as untouchables and looks down upon them. But, we understand that nobody from their own choice take up this profession. It is our negligence towards them that compels them to take up such a work. But there is an organisatiion, Durbar in Kolkata working for the welfare of prostitutes, we called them here along with two women from their oraganisation and felicitated them.”
On the other hand, Minto Road Puja Samiti has kept the pandal traditional and eco-friendly. The idol has been created using mud and and thesaree of Ma Durga has been made using waste paper. “On the day of shashti, women will call up Ma Durga which is called varankarna and this time she will arrive on a ghatak (horse) and return a on nav (boat) according to the Panjika (Bengali calendar.)
Though the pandal looks simple yet cheerful and lively, Tapan Bhattacharya told us, “Though we have cut down our budget and there is a lack of manpower, the spirit of puja is the same. But the only difference is that it is not being done on a grand scale.” Attributing reasons for the same, he shared that people “who used to live here from many years have shifted now”. “People who used to contribute every time for the puja, have left the city or shifted to other parts of the city. So, whatever involvement we have is by people like us who have always contributed.”
Another reason that actually matters to him is the negligible interest of the younger generation in terms of involvement. “I have been an active part for puja from last 40 years and I keep on inviting my son to come and join. Though he and many like him try but the contribution is nothing as compared to us.”
photos by Pankaj and Sanjeev Kumar