For residents of Salt Lake, cultural soirees form an inseparable part of Durga puja. However, with the Covid pandemic still casting its long shadow, the FD Block Sarbojanin Puja Committee’s cultural sub-committee urged residents to come forward with recorded performances rather than perform on stage. The video clips were to be uploaded on our block’s YouTube channel and shared on our Facebook page.
While taking recourse to technology meant that the familiar joys of rehearsing for months, meeting with neighbours during the programme, and sharing a laugh was no longer possible, it also ensured that the programme reached a wider audience and residents abroad could be roped in.
“Living so far away from home, I was excited to virtually participate in our own block’s cultural programme. Singing Durga vandana from the Royal Palace grounds of Turin was the highlight of my Puja celebrations this year,” said Sumouli Chatterjee, currently working in Italy.
Inaugural songs by the block residents on Tritiya formally commenced the celebrations.
On Chaturthi, a dramatised adaptation of Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s Rajkumari Kambolli, a short story centred around Surpanakha, was performed as an audio play. Monika Mukherjee, a regular face in our cultural performances, enacted it with neighbours, bringing to life the sardonic essence of the story.
The Sashthi cultural programme was an all-round celebration of inclusivity. The evening’s itinerary featured performances by the children and youths of SOS Children’s Village, a BK Block organisation committed towards the holistic development of parentless and abandoned children. While the younger kids danced to the tune of Aay re chhute aay, the popular Puja song, the older ones regaled us with their performance to the Monali Thakur hit Bolo bolo Dugga elo.
In the second programme of the evening, titled Durge Durge Durgatinashini, five children invoked the goddess through a dance recital. Ideated and directed by Sohini Das Hartmann, the recital had the young ones performing to Mahishasuramardini, Shishire shishire sharod akashe, Om jayatang Devi Chamunde, and Madhukaitava vidhwangsi. Each of the performances, though shot separately, came together seamlessly.
Any Bengali cultural event is incomplete without Tagore. In a programme titled Shudhui Rabindranath, aired on Saptami evening, a few residents of varying ages came together to remember the Bard through his songs. While Sampreena Majumdar, a young, gifted singer who was also responsible for the deft arrangement and editing of the online programme, chose Bishwosaathe joge jethay biharo, Srijon Sengupta impressed with his rendition of Maharaj eki shaaje, all the way from Rajasthan. The couple Sharmila and Mihir Chatterjee performed Anondoloke mongolaloke in duet. Incidentally, Sharmila Chatterjee was our puja committee secretary as well as the cultural sub-committee’s convenor. Another notable participant was Abhijit Majumdar, the chairman of the cultural sub-committee.
Residents were also treated to a myriad other events — revisiting Mahishasurmardini, staged and recorded by Rajarshi Biswas in 2019, on Chaturthi; a dance programme by Sreshtha Ray, and a performance of modern Bengali songs by other block residents on Panchami. There was also a children’s recital on Saptami, a musical and poetry session, and group dance performances on Ashtami and Navami respectively.
As the celebrations draw to a close for this year, we hope that cultural programmes will return to the stage in front of a live audience. And while physical performances will delight the block audience, those sitting afar, who could joyfully participate this year, too will surely not be left behind next year.