Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 25 (IANS) A slice of tribal Jharkhand, the Akshardham temple of Delhi, the garden house of a Bengali zamindar of yore - innovative artistic creativity is being showcased at various colourful Durga Puja marquees in Kolkata this year.
With almost all private media houses joining hands with corporate bigwigs to offer a plethora of prizes for the best decorated pandal, community puja organisers and local clubs have gone for innovative ideas to display their artistic abilities and voice their social concerns.

In recent years, the concept of ‘theme puja’ has almost become synonymous with Kolkata’s community pujas. Unique materials, like combs, have been used to decorate the marquees that house the idols of Goddess Durga for the four-day puja - West Bengal’s biggest festival.

Suruchi Sangha of New Alipur area, one of the greatest attractions for pandal hoppers in the southern part of the city, has chosen the green theme.

The organisers have tried to recreate the peaceful green ambience of Jharkhand amidst the urban jungle. They grew at least 85 varieties of plants over the past 12 months on their designated plot, just to give an original feel to the premises. And their efforts have been rewarded with dense foliage, with many of the plants growing as tall as 30 feet.

“The concept is really nice. The Suruchi Sangha Puja Committee has decorated the pandal beautifully. It’s really good when some organisers address such grave issues like environmental degradation with an artistic touch,” said Avik Seth, medical student from Haldia.

Jodhpur Park puja organisers zeroed in on the charm of old Kolkata and designed their pandal on the zamindar era when wealthy landlords competed with one another to hold the grandest Durga Puja.

The Jodhpur Park pandal was designed like an old palace, complete with coloured glass windows, pillars, cornices, balconies and even a thakurdalan (a courtyard for holding puja).

The organisers of the 66 Pally community have also been attracted by the nostalgia and charm of old Kolkata. With growing concern over heritage restoration, the organisers recreated at their pandal a beautifully restored garden house of a zamindar (landlord). The idol of the goddess has been etched on a huge earthenware vessel.

The concept of this puja pandal was the brainchild of noted filmmaker Goutam Ghosh.

“The zamindarbari theme has been portrayed so brilliantly and it really gives us a feel of that bygone time which, maybe, our grand-father had experienced,” said Rimjhim Roy, an enthusiastic pandal hopper.

A large number of puja committees in the posh satellite township of Salt Lake have made elaborate arrangements. With a number of these puja committees going into their silver jubilee year, the celebrations at Salt Lake stand out for their grandeur.

The GD block puja committee has modelled the pandal on the Opera House of Paris. The structure is about 75 ft tall, 84 ft long and 40 ft wide, and cost about Rs.12 lakh to build, according to local sources.

A pandal resembling an oriental Buddhist temple has been put up by the BG block puja committee, while the highly popular terracotta theme has been adopted by the FD block, which has spent Rs.20 lakh on decoration and lighting.

Sreebhumi Sporting Club, a popular puja destination located on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, has brought alive the Akshardham temple of Delhi with a spectacular lighting arrangement.

According to organisers, the total budget for this puja is a staggering Rs.3 million.

There are 1,125 Durga Puja pandals this year across Kolkata.

The puja ends Sep 28 with the immersion of idols of Goddess Durga and her pantheon in rivers and other water bodies.