He was supposed to inaugurate the puja that had his debut film as its theme. Instead, the pandal décor ended up adding a visual touch to his last journey.

An 18ft cut-out of Soumitra Chatterjee stood at the entry to the lane at the foot of Chetla bridge, leading to the gate of Keoratala crematorium. It was the bearded young Soumitra of Apur Sansar. Underneath, a printout carried a simple message — Sansar-ey Apu ar nei. (Apu is not in the world any more). Next to it, the wall was lined with several more scenes featuring him from the film.

Mourners who accompanied the actor on his last journey from Rabindra Sadan to the crematorium could not have imagined that less than a month ago the same cut-outs and pictures were part of a joyous occasion — Durga puja.

The decorated approach to the Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club pandal near Kalighat Metro station Telegraph Picture

Three pujas on a lane near the Rashbehari Avenue crossing had joined forces to offer a tribute to Satyajit Ray in his birth centenary year.

With three pujas on board, Ray’s Apu trilogy became a natural choice, suggested by Mridul Pathak, the clubs’ New York-based mentor who has his roots in the locality. Thus Badamtala Ashar Sangha, the first puja on entering the lane, portrayed Pather Panchali, 66 Palli Sarbojanin did Aparajito while Apur Sansar, starring Chatterjee, fell in the share of Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club, the third club on the stretch.

“We had preserved the pandal decor for our New Year get-together when we always do up the venue with items depicting the puja theme from the year before. When we heard the sad news, we were thinking of putting up pictures at the entry to our puja on the main road. But we got a call from Kalighat police station, quoting higher government authorities and instructing us to use the material from our pandal to decorate the path to the crematorium,” said Avijit Bose, secretary of the Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club puja, who had planned the look of the pandal environs himself.

The walls on both sides were done up with posters from Apur Sansar, in which Soumitra Chatterjee debuted Telegraph Picture

Bose had approached Chatterjee in January with a request to inaugurate the pandal. “We met him through a club member who was the manager of Star Theatre. He was attending a programme there that day. He was happy to hear about our theme and agreed to drop by. Even in August, our club member spoke to Soumitra babu over phone, inviting him on Panchami. He wanted to come on Chaturthi instead,” said Bose.

Once the call came from the thana on Sunday afternoon, the club boys immediately got to work. The crematorium is barely a two-minute drive away from the locality. “When we were working, some passers-by could be overheard commenting on the speed at which they thought the prints had been readied after Soumitra babu’s death,” said Bholanath Chatterjee, joint secretary of the club.

Both organisers admitted to harbouring mixed feelings at the turn of events. “While we are deeply honoured for the chance to pay tribute to the great man, we also feel heart-broken at the thought that something we thought would bring him joy ended up being a part of his last rites,” said Bholanath.