People mourn Chandannagar lights artist Babu Pal
Chandannagar’s colourful lights have gathered overwhelming appreciation from within the country and abroad.
After Durga Puja celebrations and with Kali Puja round the corner, many city clubs are busy preparing for Jagadhatri Puja.
One such club in South Kolkata, Friends of Bhawanipur, has embarked upon the theme of Chandannagar.
Its slogan is ‘Chandannagar er Maa Jagadhatri ebar Bhawanipur e’ (goddess Jagadhatri from Chandannagar is visiting Bhawanipur). Goddess Jagadhatri is another incarnation of goddess Durga.
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The former French colony is well known for its elaborate Jagadhatri Pujas and the lighting associated with it. It is said that Indranarayan Chowdhury introduced the Jagadhatri Puja in Chandannagar, inspired by Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia.
The puja at the crossing of Paddapukur Road and Bakulbagan at Bhawanipur will be inaugurated on 20 November and a cultural programme has been planned the next day evening, after the puja is over.
Club officials said that Kolkata Municipal Corporation chairman Sandeep Ranjan Bakshi will attend the inauguration ceremony.
Club convenor Sourav Mukherjee said that the idol will be brought from Chandannagar. “Maa Jagadhatri’s decoration will also bear the stamp of Chandannagar, which is unique. Artiste Asit Pal from Chandannagar is creating the 14-feet tall statue. One of the attractions will be its decoration, very different from what we see in the city.”
Club secretary Subhankar Roy Chowdhury said the puja used to be held at Bhawanipur on a much smaller scale but it was discontinued in between. The club is restarting the puja this year on a bigger scale.
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