A puja in north Calcutta has taken the challenge of preserving last year’s theme while working on a new theme for this year.

Hatibagan Nabin Pally, which had created a sensation with its centenary tribute to Sukumar Ray’s book of nonsense verse Abol Tabol, has decided not to erase the sketches on the walls of the neighbourhood.

“Our puja is for people. Neither our neighbours nor visitors who crowd our alley all-round the year clicking pictures and shooting reels want the images to go. So, we are planning this year’s puja in a way so that the Abol Tabol images are not damaged,” said Dipta Ghosh, one of the organisers.

Last year, the walls of not only the alley but the adjacent buildings were whitewashed and sketched with illustrations from Abol Tabol. The poems were played on localised sound systems and their central figures came alive through performances. But after the Puja, even without the lights, the sound and the performance, the neighbourhood remained a visual spectacle.

“Ask bus conductors or autorickshaw drivers at Ultadanga for Abol Tabol Para and they would drop you off here, no questions asked. They have renamed this bus stop since last Puja,” said Amitava Ray, the treasurer.

The pandal might have been dismantled last October, but the visitors have kept coming. “Every weekend, the alley gets footfall akin to the days between Dashami and immersion. Some days I see shooting underway when I leave for school and again when I come back,” said Debika Bagchi, an art teacher who is one of the volunteers who explain the theme to visitors during the Puja.

Tarna Dutta Chowdhury, whose apartment overlooks the alley, said shoots take place even into the night. “Numerous pre-wedding photo shoots have taken place. Event managers erect make-up rooms on the street where would-be brides change outfits in between shots. It is crazy,” she said.

The continued interest, residents believe, is due to the media attention the puja had got and the strong social media push that sustained into the next year that drew NRIs here during their year-end trips home.

“We had chosen to work on Sukumar Roy as 2023 was both his death centenary and 100 years of Abol Tabol. Who knew there was so much love for him and his works among people of all ages,” said Ghosh.

Residents also take pride in this exclusivity that Abol Tabol has bestowed on them.
So although the theme this year is Theatrepara, in a tribute to the theatrical heritage of the neighbourhood where six halls staged commercial theatre in its glory days, the committee has decided to cover the Sukumar Roy sketches with sunboard.

“That way, there will be a white background for the posters we are pasting of plays staged in theatres here in the past. Once Puja is over, we will take off the sunboards to return the Abol Tabol look to the area. For minimal damage, a touch-up will be done.

Since weather-proof paint had been used, we hope to retain the sketches for several years. All the residents whose buildings were used feel the same way,” Ghosh added.

Artiste Anirban Das, who had created the Abol Tabol theme last year, was pleasantly surprised to learn from The Telegraph about the organisers’ decision to retain last year’s illustrations.

“This must be a first in the city’s puja history,” he said, adding that he planned to visit the puja during the festival and the area afterwards as well.