Iron chairs stacked one on top of another and an ornamental throne sitting next to it …. sure signs of a wedding or some social occasion till a few years ago till plastic chairs took over. When residents of the Bosepukur area in south Kolkata spotted the biyebari furniture on the Puja ground first, they were left wondering about their purpose. Soon, the real reason was revealed — the Bosepukur Sitala Mandir Club pandal will be made of iron chairs this year with the singhasan as a centrepiece.
Labourers busy toiling to give the pandal a unique shape
In its 74th year of Puja, this south Kolkata club — which first shot to fame with its maatir khuri (kulhad) pandal in 2001 — has decided to bring back that tradition of celebration by evoking memories of yesteryears. The theme has been aptly dubbed Ayojon, which literally means preparation.
According to club secretary Kajal Sarkar, the puja of Ma Durga is a huge preparation and these chairs represent the process. “Even a few decades ago, iron chairs stacked in front of a house or on the ground would hint at any occasion,” he added.
Artist Anirban Das (Ban), who is decorating the pandal, the chair signifies many other things as well. At the top of the pandal, a big moving throne will be placed to signify the ultimate position (chair signifies social status) we all want to achieve. Besides, there will be several chairs moving inside the pandal. “Many of us still have memories of these chairs. Pandal-hoppers would instantly connect with those memories the moment they spot those chairs,” said Das.
Each of the 7500 chairs was bought at Rs 250
As of now, more than 7,500 such iron chairs are being used and gathering them was no mean task. “Nowadays, hardly any decorator uses these chairs. Light and inexpensive plastic chairs have replaced them. Initially, we faced immense problems collecting these iron chairs,” said Sarkar. Anticipating this, the organisers started collecting the chairs as early as March this year. “Most decorators do not use them and very few had these chairs in their stock but kept in some storage. One by one, we collected the chairs and gathered on the puja premises,” Sarkar added.
When the decorators learnt the chairs formed the central theme of the puja, they raised the prices. “So to reduce the number of chairs required, we increased their height by welding extra iron pipes to the legs of the chairs,” said Sarkar, adding that they have bought each chair at Rs 250.
Artist Abhishek Bhattacharya is making the idol with clay and fibre. “Once the puja is over, we will try to resell the chairs. Unlike bamboo and wood, iron is a reusable material and in that way, it is eco-friendly,” Das added.
