An Irish fertility goddess, who is a mother and a warrior like Durga, has found pride of place at the pandal of Behala Nutan Dal.
The 15ft figure of Danu, who is of Celtic origin, towers over visitors as they move into the inner chamber where the puja would take place.
Durga and Danu sharing space is the result of a collaboration of the Irish embassy with the Behala puja, which last year had two Dutch artists working in its pandal.
“This year, the embassy reached out to us through the consulate as they wanted to culturally commemorate the 75th anniversary of India-Ireland relations. I asked our artist Sanjib Saha and he agreed to a partnership,” said Sandipan Banerjee, the puja convenor.
Ambassador Kevin Kelly, dressed in a red panjabi on Tuesday, said his first trip out of Delhi after he assumed office last year was to Calcutta for Durga Puja.
“I was blown over and reminded of our St Patrick’s Day parade when massive installations — horses, dragons and puppets — move, and I knew Macnas, Ireland’s biggest spectacle arts company, would be equipped for a collaboration. Both Durga and Danu symbolise feminine power and women’s empowerment,” Kelly said.
Beyond the commonality in the mythologies of the two cultures, a coincidental embodiment of shared heritage is Lisa Sweeney, one of the two artists deputed by Macnas for the Puja project.
On her first trip to India, the visual artist who got herself draped in a red-bordered white sari, was back in the land of her great great great grandfather.
“He was a Brahmin from Uttar Pradesh who set sail from Calcutta for Trinidad in 1881. My mother says he had to change his name from Ayoda Prasad Misra to Gayadeen as an upper caste man could not board the ship that was taking indentured labourers to work in sugarcane plantations... This was after slavery was abolished in the Caribbean islands,” Sweeney told Metro.
In between her work at the pandal, she has visited the dock from where such ships would sail.
The two artists, Richard Babinton and Sweeney, made the first trip in June to survey the area.
“There was nothing then. When we returned in September, a large section of the structure was ready,” Babinton said.
There are two known iconographies of Danu. They chose one where her palms are stretched and water sprinkles out, forming a pool at her feet.
“Being a Nature goddess, she has flowers on her,” said Johnny O’Reilly, the executive producer, who has accompanied them.
In Ireland, baskets or frames would be thatched with sticks of willow trees. “But bamboo slices, which you get here, are so much more flexible,” O’Reilly
said.
The artists marvelled at the “unbelievable skill of the weavers and carpenters”. “It is hard to believe what they can create out of clay and straw,” Babinton said.
The Irish group plans to visit other pandals. “We will do our bit to shine the global spotlight on Durga puja, which is the biggest open-air public arts festival in the world,” ambassador Kelly said.
“Being a Nature goddess, she has flowers on her,” said Johnny O’Reilly, the executive producer, who has accompanied them. In Ireland, baskets or frames would be thatched with sticks of willow trees. “But bamboo slices, which you get here, are so much more flexible,” O’Reilly said.
The artists marvelled at the “unbelievable skill of the weavers and carpenters”. “It is hard to believe what they can create out of clay and straw,” Babinton said.
The Irish group plans to visit other pandals. “We will do our bit to shine the global spotlight on Durga Puja, which is the biggest open-air public arts festival in the world,” ambassador Kelly said.