Most of the puja committee members at Millennium Tower this year are school and college students. With Covid making it risky for senior citizens to do the legwork, youths have been asked to chip in. The group that has taken over includes students as young as 14.

“My friend told me of a meeting for children in the complex and I went along without knowing anything more,” says ninth grader Parmee Priyam Nath, who walked out of that meeting having signed up as a puja committee member. “When I got home and told my family this, they couldn’t believe it,” laughs the girl who got slotted in the rituals department.

The rest of the list has similar profiles — school and college students and a couple of pass-outs. The only exceptions are the puja president — a senior citizen — and the secretary, who is 45. “I have always been active in the complex but my work entails a lot of travel. Since this year travelling is out of the question, the residents’ association asked me to head this young team and I took it up happily,” says Shouvik Roy, an entrepreneur, who is the puja secretary.

The youths have been doing everything from choosing the theme to raising sponsorship for the puja with a Rs 3.5 lakh budget. “The managers of the companies we visited would be confused at seeing such young members coming for meetings and many would even say so on our faces,” says Mukta Mitra, who’s pursuing sociology from a Delhi college. “But they were very co-operative and we raised a decent amount.”

Mukta’s elder sister, Jhinook, 23, was leading this team and says it felt quite empowering. “Not only were we a young team but we were all women who drove down ourselves for the meetings. Initially we wondered if we would be taken seriously by the corporates but they were very supportive,” says the girl who has just completed her Masters in zoology. “Even we got to learn business communication hands-on.”

Economics student Ananda Mondal is treasurer of the puja and led a team to raise subscriptions across the complex. “We got a mixed bag,” he says. “While some households cheerfully handed us cheques with chocolates, others drove us in circles without clearing the payment. I had to consult the previous committee members for advice on dealing with such residents. Apparently such people pay up after the Pujas.”

For sociology student Riteeka Chakraborty, Puja 2020 came as a breath of fresh air after lockdown-induced stress. “The work was challenging but the distraction helped me concentrate better on my studies,” said the student who visualised their pandal. “We built a village hut with tribal and Madhubani motifs and verses from famous poems but we consulted a former committee member, Natraj Das, for advice whenever we needed.”

At a time when most pujas have cancelled their themes, these students are proud to have pulled one off.

Nandita Das, a medical student who has always performed dance and plays in the complex, has taken charge of the cultural committee. “It was an extension of the effort I put in every year but with the additional responsibility of ensuring that others deliver,” says the girl. The complex is going ahead with solo and duet stage performances.

“This year, we have fewer performances as artistes are scared of Covid. Also, even though many outstation students are in town, their colleges are not affiliated to Bengal and so have not declared holidays for the Pujas. Their exams are on,” Nandita says.

Parmee, for instance, waited with bated breath for her English exam to conclude on Panchami morning so she could run down and work on the puja’s inauguration later in the day. “If it wasn’t for Covid, I would have invited my school friends to come over,” says the teenager. “This year, the puja is more fun as I’m organising it myself.”

Besides the fun element, Ananda felt the exercise has been a valuable experience in public interaction and teamwork. “I loved the responsibility but don’t see how I’ll be able to continue on the committee post-Corona. My college would keep me away from 9am to 7pm,” says the student of Jadavpur University.

Mukta felt the youth have injected a splash of innovation in the procedures. “It seems previously the committee only had a rate card to present to potential advertisers. The new team has prepared a full-fledged sponsorship proposal,” says the girl who is the public relations and sponsorship head of her college film society.

Shouvik, the secretary, felt any lack of experience in the students was more than made up by their passion. “They did such a good job that next year I would want to step down and have one of them serve as secretary,” he smiles.