An artist who has spent three happy years in Manipur will be sending out a message of solidarity with the strife-torn state by designing his neighbourhood Durga puja pandal with the state as theme.
FC Block in Salt Lake will usher in Manipur-er Ma at the pandal coming up on its ground.
“I spent the entire lockdown period in Manipur and came back in 2021. It has been heart-breaking to see from a distance how the beautiful state which I called home just a few months ago and where I made so many friends plunged into a state of lawlessness and civil unrest. So when Nilanjan (Brahma, the block puja secretary) asked me to device a theme for our puja I could think of nothing beyond Manipur,” said Palash Das, a resident of the block.
The goddess, sculpted by Ashish Pal, will be dressed in tribal attire. “She will wear an ethnic ghaghra, which will be flared up around the waist of the idol by a wicker basket (jhuri). Outside the pandal, on either side of the entrance will stand a Kuki woman and a Meitei man, both with an Indian flag in hand,” he said.
The cultural programme will also be in line with the theme. The block is in talks with a Manipuri band, comprising Manipur natives who stay in Calcutta on work, said Brahma.
The pandal will look like a traditional village hut in Manipur, made out of wood, bamboo pole and bamboo slices. Das regrets being unable to visit Manipur for a first-hand reconnoitering trip. “My friends there have sent me pictures based on which we are modeling the structure. The society there is matriarchal. We will also use the colourful alpona that they use.”
Above all, the organisers would be praying for peace to return to the strife-torn state, they said.