In Kolkata, Durga Puja pandals themed on NRC, partition

A set up, with a woman surrounded by children holding an idol of Goddess Durga, depicts a detention camp for NRC and CAA detainees, at a community Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, on Saturday. Pic/PTI

Several Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata have themed the marquees and idols on issues such as farmers' agitation, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the partition of India. Barisha Club in Behala has themed its puja on NRC, highlighting the plight of displaced people. Titled ‘Bhager Maa' (divided mother), the pensive-looking idol of the goddess symbolises the plight of hundreds of mothers who had to leave their dwellings and head for uncertainty.

However, she is seen clutching an idol of Durga symbolising that she is determined to continue the puja, which used to be celebrated with much fanfare at her ancestral home. The marquee is divided into two parts - India and Bangladesh. The mother and her children wait in the no man's land, in a cage-like structure with her children and belongings. Rintu Das, who conceptualised the theme, told reporters, "The partition days have come back to haunt us as there are talks of sending back people who have made this country their home for ages. Hope the history is not repeated."

Naktala Udayan Sangha, one of the prominent clubs, has themed its pandal on refugee migration by train. "We have recreated a train coming with refugees from Pakistan to showcase the sufferings of the displaced people," its spokesperson Samrat Nandi told PTI. Conceived and executed by Bhabatosh Sutar, the depiction drew references from Khushwant Singh's novel ‘Train to Pakistan' and Atin Bandyopadhyay's ‘Neelkantho Pakhir Khoje'.

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