Kolkata, Sep 21 (IANS) A Kolkata NGO is all set to organise Durga Puja in a very different way - by involving children on the margins of society.
The rituals, the ceremonies and the cultural programmes that mark the four-day festival will be organised by hundreds of physically challenged, destitute and marginalised children of society with the help of OFFER (Organisation For Friends Energies and Resources) at a puja in the outskirts of Kolkata.

“In our puja, everything is organised by around 5,000 children. We have four homes for children,” Kallol Ghosh, secretary, OFFER told IANS.

OFFER has four homes - Anandaghar for children who are HIV positive, Apanjan for mentally challenged children and Sahajpath which provides educational sponsorships to needy children in collaboration with the West Bengal government. The fourth home, Apanghar is for socially orphaned children like those from red light areas.

Durga Puja is a mammoth community organisational effort, right from the decoration of the ‘mandap’ (marquee), to the organisation of the prayers, to the distribution of ‘prasad’ and ‘bhog’ to thousands of devotees and visitors and the immersion on the fourth day. This year, however, children will be at the centrepiece of this Puja.

“The children are now busy with the decoration of the mandap (the area where puja will be performed),” Ghosh said. “This effort by OFFER is to bring these kids into the mainstream.”

The children of these homes, who range from two to 12 years in age, will also be busy making ‘alpana’ (decorative paintings) for the puja.

“Apart from this, they will help the elders with their work,” Ghosh said.

The puja will be conducted at the Apanjan premises and every evening the children will perform cultural programmes.

West Bengal is now in festive mode with thousands of big and small pujas being held in every neighbourhood and even hundreds of homes in cities and villages across the state. Durga Puja starts on Sep 25 and ends on Sep 28 with the immersion of Goddess Durga and her pantheon in the rivers and other waters.