Another guest post about Durga Pujo

I don't have the time and I am in no mood to write. So this guest post taken from the Telegraph about the Durga Pujo will have to substitute.

Warm and very infectious
- A first-timer recounts his introduction to the Durga event
MAX BENITZ
The Kalighat Yuba Maitri Sangha idol. Picture by Pabitra Das

I’m pandal-hopping around Calcutta. It’s midnight and I’ve just stumbled upon a pandal constructed with 24,000 Horlicks bottles. Until this moment, ‘culture shock’ was what other people got.

A month in Calcutta has certainly taught me to expect the unexpected, but a 10-metre-high temple of energy drink was still somewhat hard to stomach.

It’s been interesting to see Calcutta gearing up for the big event. It’s also been a bit confusing, because no matter how many photographs you see and people you speak to, nothing can truly prepare you for your first Puja. Idle hours of anticipation proved wasted once the festival had begun, as nothing in my experience could prepare me for the vibrant variety of Puja.

“The transformation really has to be seen to be believed,” Prof Amitava Roy had told me but after the recent rains, I’d assumed that there was no way some pandals would be finished on time. A pandal near where I live (Gol Park) was still an unclad bamboo structure as recently as Monday but, as everyone had assured me, come Sashthi, it was all painted, finished and packed with revellers, idols in place and ceiling crowded with glittering patterns.

That this turnaround was completed is surely a testament not only to the skill of the artisans but also to their intense pride in the work that they do.

Some of the pandals are truly extraordinary. The 66 Pally Sarbojanin, near the Kalighat temple, really struck me. The dimly-lit, red-walled, terraced pandal is set off by dark, monochrome idols; combined, the colours are reminiscent of ancient Greek pottery. Patient and orderly crowds filed past this abode of Shakti, while incense and bells filled the nightscape.

For every blockbuster puja, there are many neighbourhood pujas. Lacking corporate sponsorship or wealthy donors, they build smaller pandals celebrating the Mother Goddess in a more modest fashion.

“We want to create a very homely atmosphere,” said a committee member of the Brindaban Matri Mandir Puja, Sukeas Street, and such pujas certainly succeed in this. Whether its conch-blowing contests or neighbourhood feasts, the smaller pujas have a friendly atmosphere — like a larger version of the British ‘family Christmas’, which I’ll be missing out on for the first time this year.

While some might accuse certain pandals of gimmickry, the centrality of the idols is indisputable at each and every puja that I’ve seen. “The focus is not the Horlicks bottles,” said the secretary of the Dakshinee Sangha pandal. “It’s all about the Mother Goddess.” The artistry is often astonishing. While I preferred the more traditional, doll-like idols, the sense of violent movement captured in more modern depictions can be searingly effective too.

Calcutta tends to shut down at night, so it was intriguing to see the streets clogged with crowds and cars through the night. The city certainly does nocturnal very well and whether you want to take a spin on a Ferris wheel or grab a bite to eat, all tastes are catered to at any time of the night. Only the pariah dogs seemed confused by the Puja activity, as if we humans had no right to take over the streets that are usually theirs in the small hours.

Although the pandals and idols take centre stage, Durga puja seemed to me to be more about a certain mood throughout the city. This atmosphere builds, whipped up by ubiquitous advertisements for everything, from lip salve to diamonds, and is utterly infectious. It is both warm and welcoming and has made my first Puja an unforgettable experience.
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