An 8ft-tall paper lantern will go up in the Kolkata sky carrying with it the city’s wishes for the Indian cricket team ahead of Sunday’s ICC Men’s World Cup final.
The lantern will be released from Goabagan in north Kolkata on Friday.
Pradyut Kumar Mallick, who organises a Fanush Festival every year on Kali Puja, planned an extra lantern this year when India stayed undefeated in the first six matches.
“It seemed the team was capable of a great show and we could pin our hopes on the boys,” he said.
He painted the paper lantern in the blue shade of the team jersey and added pictures of Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma. The plan was to release it towards the business end of the tournament.
On Sunday at his festival, Mallick released 14 lanterns on a variety of themes, from Chhota Bheem to Chandrayaan 3.
“But those who had assembled had heard about my World Cup-themed fanush and urged me to release it. So I did so,” Mallick recalled.
At night, seeing India top the league table after the match with the Netherlands, Mallick decided the team deserved an exclusive lantern. So the 73-year-old, who does everything by himself, from buying coloured tissue paper in China Bazar off Brabourne Road to drawing, cutting and sticking the pieces together, got going.
This time the lantern is in the shades of the Tricolour. And on the banner that is tied by a string to the lantern will be pictures of the World Cup and Virat, Rohit and Mohammed Shami.
“I added Shami this time at the last moment because of his heroics in the semi-final. He is the highest wicket-taker of the tournament too,” Mallick said.
A lantern takes 12 to 13 hours to make if one can work non-stop. “But of course I cannot take that strain. So I spread it out across several days,” he says.
It has not helped that the next generation has not yet taken an interest.
“My grandson is 10 and shows a lot of enthusiasm on the day of the release. Let’s see if he gets involved in the making once he grows a bit older,” he reflects.
Though Mallick has been making paper lanterns for six decades now, ever since he learnt the craft from his father and uncle, this is the first time he made one on cricket.
“The only lantern on a sports theme I have made was last year after Lionel Messi won the football World Cup,” he says.
The finishing touches to Friday’s lantern were given on Thursday afternoon when the second semi-final was being played not too far from his home, at Eden Gardens, to decide who India would face on Sunday.
“Given the form our boys are in, it should not matter if they can play to their potential,” he signs off, with a smile.