From Kabuliwalas singing songs of Afghanistan to Sonu Sood idolised, Kolkata is readying for its favourite festival with signature gusto.
This is the second year of Durga Puja amid the Covid pandemic, and the restrictions and relief given to Puja committees remain unchanged from last year.
Personalities and events from headlines often find space in Kolkata's biggest celebration and this time, too, a Durga Puja committee in north Kolkata has decided to get its “theme song” sung by two Pakhtoons who live in the city, thousands of miles away from trouble-torn Afghanistan.
The Aswaninagar Bandhu Mahal Club got in touch with the two men, who sing in their spare time besides their main money lending business, Puja committee spokesman Swarup Nag said.
“Bengalis have had a relationship with Kabuliwalas for a long time,” Nag told My Kolkata. “We all have read Rabindranath Tagore’s famous short story Kabuliwala. In this time of turmoil, we need to stand by them. The theme song will be our way of expressing solidarity with these people who in the past few days have seen their country slip into sheer violence and mayhem.”
The theme song, in the 41st year of the popular Puja in the Baguiati, will have typical Afghan folk tunes with words in the Pashto language.
"We are planning to play the Bengali translation of the lyrics in between," Nag told PTI.
Sonu Sood beside Durga in Kestopur
Actor Sonu Sood has won many hearts across the country with his charitable work since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now a club in the Kestopur area in Kolkata has decided to pay tribute to his philanthropic endeavours.
The club, in the Prafulla Kanan area of Kestopur, is reportedly planning to install a bust of the actor right beside the Durga idol.
The actor will unveil the bust himself before Puja begins, news channels reported.
