This festive season, you’ll be treated with something different at Pragati Sangha Sarbajanin Durga Puja at Purbaputiary. And no wonder, as you will find yourself in ‘Rajasthan’. A piece of Rajasthan will welcome you with all its grandeur and lilting folk music. But more interestingly, the replica of Gangaur, the famous festival of Rajasthan, will be an added bonanza in the year of the 65th year of the puja here.

“This year, our theme is Utsab, which means festival. While Bengal celebrates Durga Puja, which is essentially a worship of womanhood, Rajasthan has its Gangaur festival which is very colourful and one of the most important occasions for the people of Rajasthan,” said Pijush Saha, the joint secretary of the puja committee. He said the festival is observed throughout the Northern state with great fervour and devotion by womenfolk, who worship Gauri, the consort of Lord Shiva in March- April. “Since the beginning, we had plans to focus on womencentric theme. We thought that the two festivals will showcase our theme in the most appropriate manner. Our pandal will be decorated with paintings, illustrations, handicrafts and jewellery of Rajasthan. There will be seven folk artists of Rajasthan whose music and dance performances are bound to rivet the visitors,” Saha added.

The ground in front of the pandal will be adorned with rangoli and alpana made by artistes from Birbhum, Santiniketan and Bankura. Camels decorated with ostentatious saddles, beads and other handicrafts will be another attraction here. The theme has been conceptualised by Sanjoy Burman while the idol of goddess Durga has been crafted by Gautam Sen. Celebrating Bengal In its centenary year, the Kamardanga Sadharon Durgotsav Samity will celebrate various aspects of West Bengal under its theme ‘Joy Bangla’. This Puja, which started with the endeavour of only a handful people when India was under British rule, will bring out each and every possible aspects of the 23 districts of West Bengal.

“Our puja pandal will showcase minute details of the 23 districts of Bengal. Each district of our state has some distinguishing features, be it Chhau dance of Purulia, terracotta of Bankura or hills of Darjeeling. We have tried to make our pandal not only a piece of decoration but also a goldmine of information. People visiting the pandals will get to know about famous personalities from the districts. There will be information about the geographical size, population and important places to visit in all the districts,” said Samir Saha, the general secretary of the puja committee. The traditional Durga idol here will be bedecked with 110 kilograms of silver ornaments.