Themes for Durga Pujas in the city have always reflected a slice of the society or major events around the world.
So, it is natural for the pujas this year to be affected by the rape and murder of Tilottama at R G Kar hospital. While some are showing their solidarity with the protest by the doctors and the common man, others have chosen to carry on with the usual fanfare and proceedings. The latter lot reasons that artists, artisans, decorators etc., also need to earn and make a living. To show solidarity with the people associated with the event of Durga Puja, they are not protesting, at least on the puja turf.
Silver Oak Estate in Rajarhat is presenting a symbol of resilience and justice through their celebration this year.
For them the spirit of empowerment should extend beyond rituals and festivities, urging everyone to foster a society where women are not only celebrated but also safeguarded and uplifted.
The puja is also a platform to pay tribute to Abhaya and to raise awareness about the issue of women’s safety and highlight the need for justice and women’s empowerment. The pandal is getting decoration with 100 drawings and portraits by the residents, educating the society on good touch-bad touch, sexual abuse etc., and the idols have all been designed to evoke empathy and solidarity with the Abhaya’s family.
We are making a statement, dedicating our puja to the R G Kar doctor. It signifies the community’s collective grief, anger and determination to seek justice,” said Amit Mukhopadhyay, president of the puja committee.
He adds, “Celebration has been mellowed down and we are having an in-house cultural show. We had booked artists but cancelled on popular demand. As our CSR activity, we will be teaching around 50 girls self-defence and martial arts from an orphanage throughout the year. We have given a contract to the trainer for the purpose.”
The residents of Silver Oak Estate under the puja committee‘s guidance are pledging not to give Maa an opportunity to hang her head in shame.
But East Beleghata Janakalyan Sangha puja committee members do not think that protesting during puja will help anyone. They are against any protest and believe that the show must go on so that the people associated with puja should get work and earn money.
The theme artist of Janakalyan puja committee Sani Das feels that protest and puja should be kept separate. “Just as we artists, alumni of govt. art college, and Rabindra Bharati University are working on puja themes and also participating in protest marches, our Durga is also working and protesting at the same time. If she has to survive, she has to work to earn. I cannot stop work because I also have my Durga at home and she will face hardships if I do not work,” said Mr Das.
The committee members said it was not possible for the puja committee to curtail the budget or cut short on decoration as all this was planned way ahead and the tragic incident happened almost a couple of months back. They said they are sad about the incident but work has to go on.
Hazra Park Durgotsav has taken up Suddhi (purification) as this year’s theme. They said that this purification is for everything, of the mind and of action. Sayan Deb Chatterjee, joint secretary of the committee said, “We do not want to highlight the protest on the puja platform. We feel that Durga Puja is a joyous occasion and people indulge in celebration forgetting all the miseries. We have been protesting in our own way, but privately.”
But Unnayani Sangha at Paschim Putiary, Kudghat is registering their protest against the dastardly act and also taking steps so that such incidents are minimised in future.
The committee has started karate classes for girls in the age group of 15-30 as they are the most vulnerable. The club, which holds the puja has also decided on starting counselling for boys, 15 years onwards, who will be taught how to behave with girls. “We want to mentally prepare them by the time they are adults. The boys were already having their karate classes but after the R G Kar incident we decided to include a programme for girls too,” said one of the organisers.
Joy Mukherjee, a puja committee member, said, “Within our celebration there is despondency. We are talking of conserving the environment through our theme but we see that moral degradation is rampant, which is polluting the mind. Through the Gond art of Madhya Pradesh, we are showing the loss of natural habitat and imbalance in nature.”
The puja will be using minimal illumination, unlike previous years.
Members of Railpukur United Club in Baguiati too want that a protest message should permeate to the viewers, thronging their puja. They are highlighting atrocities on women over the ages.