Despite inclement weather, BK Block residents gathered in droves to celebrate their khuti puja recently. They were even more excited to know about the theme this year.
“This will be the 37th year of our puja and we have chosen a theme to explore the camaraderie between India and Africa,” said block secretary Rajarshi Chandra.
“The theme will be brought to life by renowned artiste Bapai Sen and our sculptor will be Sanatan Pal. We look forward to inviting a special African guest to inaugurate our Puja too.”
Block president Rabindra Kumar Dokania expressed his anticipation in watching the unique theme come alive.
Cultural secretary Chandrasekhar Bag said details of the theme were still unknown to them. “And that has upped our excitement and curiosity. To set the tone for today, we have even got a Durga idol to announce the commencement of work,” he said.
The khuti itself had the installation of a decorative trinayani on top. The puja was accompanied by cultural programmes. Ladies of the block performed songs like Anandaloke and Dhaak baja kashor baja.
Residents were inspired to see an 82- year-old, Tanushree Ray, diligently helping out with the rituals. The khuti puja was attended by minister and MLA Sujit Bose and mayor Krishna Chakraborty. “Durga puja is the driving force behind people’s lives. It also teaches us to respect women, be it our biological mothers or the goddess,” said Chakraborty.
Esha Barman
Labony Estate
Puri’s Jagannath temple will be recreated at Labony Estate this time. The complex would be celebrating the 49th year of its puja in October and artists from Domjur would be coming over to work on the pandal.
“Ours is one of the oldest and most popular pujas in Salt Lake with a footfall of 25-30,000 visitors per day,” said the president of Labony’s residents’ body, Saikat Kumar Dutta. “We also invite former residents to come over, giving us a chance to reconnect during the festival.”
Vice president Arun Kumar Dasgupta said the complex was “700 ghor, ek uthon,” indicating that the 700-odd flats in the complex shared a common courtyard. “Some former residents wait the whole year to visit the city during the pujas. They do it for the sake of their roots and to support the puja from wherever they are,” he said.
Secretary Sumit Sarkar called Labony the Maddox Square of Salt Lake and felt the chosen theme would click with revellers. “The Jagannath temple is an important and revered destination for Bengalis. Plus, elderly residents prefer to stick to traditional themes. Our idol too would be traditional,” he said.
Residents were an excited lot. Four-year-old Meghna Bose was thrilled to be wearing new clothes for the function and Shubodh Choudhury, 78, said he was awaiting the reunion during the pujas. Women in saris danced to the beats of the dhaak.
MLA and minister Sujit Bose and councillor Tulsi Sinha Roy joined the residents on the day. “I hope people visit Labony’s Jagannath temple before heading to Puri,” Bose said.
Esha Barman
CK-CL Block
It was a rainy morning but residents and chief guests happily held up the ceremonial pole under umbrellas. The khuti puja at CK-CL Block was also the day the organisers announced the theme — Gourir saajghar.
Theme maker Partha Das has been in this business since the year 2000 but this will be his first venture in Salt Lake. “I’ve built pandals in north and south Calcutta but find the flavour of Salt Lake to be different from them both. Here residents are more close-knit. As for their puja, they want it to be a blend of tradition and modernity,” he said.
While details are yet to be fleshed out, the pandal is expected to adorned with colourful accessories like bangles and bindis. “While maintaining that this is Durga’s room, we also want to pay tribute to women pandal-hoppers who dress to the nines before stepping out on puja days,” Das said.
The block’s general secretary Shanti Ranjan Pal was keen to see how the theme played out. “We want to explore interesting concepts and present them in new avatars to pandal-hoppers. But we also respect tradition and so the idol would be a sabeki one, by Pradip Rudra Pal,” he said.
The ritual was attended by minister and MLA Sujit Bose and mayor Krishna Chakraborty, both of whom extended best wishes to the puja.
Joint Secretary Tapash Sen added that residents had huge expectations from them. “We are the only two blocks in Salt Lake that have a united association. Naturally, residents expect celebrations on double the scale. We are hopeful our puja will be a big crowd-puller this time,” Sen said.