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Innovation marks Puja celebrations in Kolkata

By Pramita Bose

The toll of festivity rung its ardent arrival with sacred chants of the Mahalaya at the dawn of September 18. Devi Paksha has set in with blaring of the dhaak beats and swaying of white kaash blossoms. The paksha or the fortnightly phase of Goddess Durga revolves around its quintessential Puja. According to Hindu mythology, Devi Durga spells nemesis for evil and restores goodwill, peace and common welfare. She is the emblem of Stree Shakti and a vanquisher of dark forces, epitomised by the monstrous buffalo-demon king called Mahisasura.

In response to her homeward journey from her heavenly abode, the residents of the earth make elaborate preparations to commemorate the occasion with great pomp and show. They celebrate her alighting on the Prithvi, welcoming her with open arms. This warm reception amidst eye-dazzling splendour, splurge and magnificence, is being played up in diverse forms and ways across the nation. The four auspicious days are celebrated all over India amidst fun, spunk, a riot of colourful rituals and ceremonies. It’s not only the Puja of Maa Durga, the 10-handed goddess or the Dasabhuja, it is also a Sarvjanin Durgotsav, a festival celebrated by all.

Like the traditional artistes of the Pal community of Kumartuli (a place to make earthen idols) have spawned generations of pratimashilpi or idol-makers, with the advent of commercialisation in every single field, many new-age artistes have evolved, keeping pace with the contemporary school of thought. The Pal potters and craftsmen inherit the craft by virtue of their pedigree.

It’s not a change of the old guard in particular, but Kolkata’s world-famous Durga Puja certainly wears a fresh coat of slick, glossy varnish, in terms of ingenious invention, brought in by the current crop of art college graduates.

New names and brands have stemmed up to fill in the void of innovative Puja, propelled with offbeat themes and out-of-the-box ingredients. The age-old daaker shaaj of ekchaala idols were once spearheaded by the patriarchs of renowned aristocratic households and royal mansions. They are still being preserved and performed in select pockets of North Kolkata and further down the suburban fringes. The rest of the cityscape is rather seen being dotted with pandals erected upon stylised structures and novel themes. The idols are fashioned with recycled materials and unimaginable items. Thus, both tradition and modernity are beautifully juxtaposed in a congenial co-existence. Bizarre is the name of the game to brood over and gape in wonder at the dexterity of some incredibly intricate creations. Installed in strange methods with minute detailing, an array of marvellous works of art needs an archive to be preserved for posterity.

Art college students like Samir Aich, Bhabatosh Sutar, Sanatan Dinda, Susanta Pal, Partho Roy have translated their designs on paper and ideas secured within the walls of their plush studio premises into gigantic grotesque sculptures. "It’s a kind of a surreal street art or open-air installations. The oeuvre exemplifies an artiste’s deep insight into his vocation of originality and spontaneous overflow of his powerful feelings. With a top-notch paint brand’s declaration of a prize for the community Pujas way back in the mid-1980s spurred the urgency to come up with theme-based and conceptual Pujas in and around Kolkata," shares an artiste. Two decades down the line, this fight over achieving a rare feat of sorts and bagging the top honours has resulted into a drive for some outlandish repertoire of art specimens carved out of a tapestry of objects picked from here, there, everywhere.

Reading the list of rehashed items says it all: ceramic tiles, tubelights, match sticks, blades, edibles like crispy crunchy-munchies, record players, cell-phone SIM cards as a chip from the latest block of technology and gadgets, coconuts, fish nets, crayons or wax colours, gamchhas (towels), sal leaves, banana leaves, jutework, woodworks, dokra art, intricate wrought-iron stuff, terracotta designs, masks, beetle leaves, replica of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School, Chinese shrines, temples, pilgrimage spots, rathyatra and even greenery to symbolise the eco-friendly ‘save the verdant earth and environment’ message in the wake of global warming and climate change.

As seeing is believing, a curious congregation trickles in to make serpentine queues at the entrance gateways only to catch a glimpse of the deity being worshipped in a radiant resplendence and adore the uniquely designed pandals, its eye-popping interior decor and the ancillary paraphernalia.

The festivity has now burgeoned into a grand artfair, with extensive display of aesthetics, artistry and grandeur that is cost-effective. Aeons ago, the long-winding chain of suppliers, labourers, artistes, decorators, pandal-makers, lighting arrangers, illuminators, immersion cavalcades, processions, band-parties had sown in the seeds of a prospective industry. Now, the Puja committees are reaping fruits of a sustainable success.

Putting aside its obvious cultural aspects, this annual carnival is minting good money. Artist Ganesh Pyne says: "The entire affair seems to be lavishly arty and extravagant rather than invoking faith and piety amongst legions of staunch, loyal devotees of the Mother Goddess. It can only entail an elaborate exhibition of rare artefacts with signature traits of an adept workmanship." Pyne opines on the indispensable means of eking out a subsistence adopted by a bevy of skilled karigars (artisans). "One can never deny the ploys of a decent livelihood and handsome remuneration deals struck by every other potter and artisans from remote villages."

Chanchal Chakraborty, the aged ancestor of a reputed household in Rajpur, which has been worshipping the traditional image of the deity through conventional rites and rituals over 150 years, says: "During Durga or Kali Puja, there’s large-scale rolling of moolah. The brouhaha brewing over this bingeing on the ‘theme Puja concept’ will fade out in no time. And the true legacy of traditional Pujas will be reinstated to its full glory."

Industrialist Sanjay Budhia says: "We should first respect the traditions and ethical values embedded into the root of our society. The noble idea and spirit that the Puja stands for should be kept alive. A little bit of commercial branding will be there as all corporate biggies look for a formidable scope to launch and promote their products. But everything should boil down to a subtle approach affixed with a tinge of aesthetics. Sponsorship is okay, but complete commercialisation of the Pujas leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I personally take an initiative to ferry the underprivileged destitute children in buses for a pleasure-deriving Puja parikrama. This gives them a right to go for pandal-hopping with dignity."

Attuned to this festive mood, how can one keep the limelight hogging glitterati and ever-chasing star-gazers at bay! Puja without a star snipping off ribbons at a pandal doorstep, is unthinkable. While the small-fries can still make do with the regional small-timers, the big shots have to invariably hunt for industry bigwigs. From Bollywood to Tollywood to Kollywood and even teleserial-actors, the A-leaguers hop from pandal to pandal to grace the inauguration functions. "Hope they manage to hide their hefty pay-cheques from the prying eyes of income-tax raiders this festive season," says a club secretary, planning to rope in Mithun Chakraborty for the Pujas.

From Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, Pritam to Ajay Devgan, Preity Zinta, Dharmendra, Ajay Jadeja, Jaya Prada, Hema Malini and Rakesh Roshan — the who’s who of planet-B never disappoints to grab all eyeballs on the D-day with their presence. Well, what exorbitant sum they quote as appearance money for a flitting 15 minutes’ fame is beyond anybody’s guess. The amount can even touch one crore mark.

The politicos too don’t shun the spotlight either. And para Pujas leave no stone unturned to employ this publicity tool as a win-win policy.