By: Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee
After two years of Covid restrictions for the first time, Kolkata is again going back to Kolkata during the Durga Puja celebration. Like Bihu in Assam or Pongal in the South, this Durgotsav is celebrated by the Bengalis all over the state and in India. Even abroad, Bengali communities organize Durga Puja – be it in Europe or Canada, or America. Even in Pakistan and China Durga puja is organized by the Bengali Community. In Kolkata people almost go crazy about celebrating this festival. People are on the spree for shopping and eating. Shops and restaurants come out with new items of clothes and food respectively. Durga Puja is among the most celebrated and most-awaited Hindu festivals in India, wherein Goddess Durga is worshipped for nine days. The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and commemorates the 10th day of Dashmi to mark Goddess Durga’s victory over demon king Mahishasur. In most places across North India, Dussehra marks the end of the celebrations, with huge effigies of Ravana, burnt across the region. Durga Puja of Kolkata is world famous and it was also included in UNESCO’s representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2021. Every year, Kolkata brings a new theme to Durga Puja pandals, which are unique and innovative in their way. This year during the Independence Day celebration at Red Road, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took out a rally thanking UNESCO for putting Durga Puja on the intangible cultural heritage representative list in Kolkata. The people of Kolkata gear up months before the festival and waits all year long for the happiest days of the city. Buying and selling spree turns into a frenzy long before the puja in the city. Most of the city shuts down for the last four days of the festival, named Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami. Elaborate pandals are installed throughout the city to welcome Mother Durga. The word pandal means a temporary structure, made of bamboo and cloth, which is used as a temple for the puja. These pandals make Kolkata a city of joy in the real sense. People all over the night hop from this pandal to that. Children, old men, and women too walk ceaselessly to visit the pandals as cars are not allowed to park near the puja pandal.
This year, what has caught people’s eyes is the Shree Bhoomi Sporting Club pandal at Bidhannar. Every year, the club aces the said theme and entices visitors with its stunning pandals. This year too, the club has stunned people with its stunning Vatican City-themed puja pandal. The club is also celebrating its 50 years Golden Jubilee this year. Of course, it has to be special and memorable! This year, what has caught people’s eyes is the Shree Bhoomi Sporting Club pandal at Bidhannar. West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister and Sreebhumi Sporting Club president Sujit Bose said in a media interview that people have heard about Vatican City in Rome, however, only a few lucky people have traveled abroad to see it. So, the theme will fulfill people’s wish of visiting Vatican City. Informing more about the pandal, he said that it took 60 days to create and complete this pandal with the help of over 100 artisans. Last year, Sreebhumi managed to catch the attention of people with their Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) theme.
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These pujo pandals in West Bengal are noted for their magnificence and people not only from India but also from all over the world as travellers flock to the city to witness this grandeur. Before this, the club had designed the Bahubali movie theme pandal, which looked surreal. On the joyous day of Tritiya, The Chief Minister inaugurated several marvellous Puja Pandals across Kolkata. She was seen in the festive spirit, jubilant with the crowd, much to our delight after inaugurating the Sree Bhoomi puja pandal. But in some puja pandal, post-poll violence is symbolized by presenting Durga with broken hands. This year, the Durga Puja celebration begins on October 1, 2022, and concludes on October 5, 2022. During this time, people put on new dresses; go pandal hopping and of course, go on a bingeing spree. Baghbazar Sarbojonin Durga Puja, FD Block Durga Puja, FD Block 23er Palli, Suruchi Sangha, College Square, Mohammad Ali Park Singhi Park, Mudiali Club pujos showcase the famous pandals for Durga puja.
For the first time in history, Kolkata witnesses the ‘Meta Pujo’ this year. India’s Durga Puja this year has become Meta Pujo as all the prominent puja pandals in Kolkata will be accessible through 3D twins on the metaverse. The famous puja pandals including Ahiritola Sarbojanin, Deshapriya Park, Ballygunge Cultural, and Tala Prattay have turned into Metaverse. Well, as far as the definition is concerned, Metaverse is a virtual-reality space where users can interact with a computer-generated environment. The organizers, with the help of technology experts Metaform and XP&DLAND, and Spatial, will let people have a Durga Puja pandal darshan on a 3D platform. The platform will be made in the pandal form and will allow devotees from all over the globe to enter the universe and experience the pujo. So even if people won’t be able to enjoy the celebrations physically, they can still witness the grandeur from anywhere in the world. They can also do pandal hopping from the comforts of their homes.
The organizers have planned everything and have centered around 3D recreations. People can walk around, talk to others and also click pictures. Not only this, users can make a meta-realistic avatar of themselves and can access everything via smartphones or tablets as well.
As of now, four puja pandals in Kolkata will have this facility, namely Ahiritola Sarbojanin, Deshapriya Park, Ballygunge Cultural, and Tala Prattay. Durga Puja is famous in Kolkata for the themes which rouse the aesthetic sense of the viewers and several such theme pandals are given awards for their artistry and craftsmanship. Some pandals present social messages to the viewers through the image of Goddess Durga. Relatives meet after a long time even from outside the state or country. It is a kind of reunion of people in the state and the ambience of euphoria and jubilation makes the people forget about the mundane conflicts and selfishness. For the puja days, there is a celebration of unity in diversity. In Park Circus for example the Muslims organize Durga Puja. The message of communal harmony is given through such efforts. Many political parties sell their books in the puja pandal. The beautiful dhunuchi dance and the sound of Dhak beating take the people to a new world of metaphysical reality. This socio-religious narrative in the presentation makes the puja a real cultural heritage in the true sense. Those who did not enjoy the Durga Puja ambience of Kolkata have not seen half of the beauty of Kolkata. It is not just a puja celebration; it is an ecstatic celebration of their culture and heritage.
(The author is the head of the Post Graduate Dept of English Dum Dum Motijheel Kolkata. He can be reached at profratanbhatacharjee@gmail.com)
