In a first, Durga Puja pandal crafted in state to be exported to California

KOLKATA: For the first time ever, a Puja pandal crafted by an artist from Bengal will be used overseas at California during Durga Puja.

Preparations for the pandal has been going on in full swing since the last two months at Konnagar in Hooghly in the outskirts of Kolkata under the supervision of artist Sandip Chatterjee.

It is quite common that Durga idols manufactured at the artisan hub Kumartuli in Kolkata or at other places are transported abroad during Durga Puja. But, this is happening for the first time when an entire Puja mandap is being transported to a foreign country

The pandal is being made in such a manner that it can be packaged and then flown to California.

The club, namely California Bay Area Prabasi, will be sending one of its members in Bengal and in mid-September, it will be sent to California. The idol of Devi Durga and her entourage has already reached the Puja committee from Kumartuli.

The club member will witness a demonstration on how to fix up the pandal during the Puja celebration there. Chatterjee will be available online during the installation of the pandal for any sort of assistance.

"It is surely another feather in the cap of Bengal after Durga Puja in Kolkata has featured on the Representative List of

the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," Chatterjee said.

Speaking on the fixation of the deal for the Puja, he said that in 2010 he had worked on a Puja pandal at Rajarhat which was widely appreciated. An NRI friend of one of the club members of the Rajarhat based Puja committee proposed that whether the deft artistry involved in various themes in Pujas in Bengal could be churned out in California.

"My contact number was shared and I was asked to conceptualise a theme design after they informed me of the space available for hosting the

Puja. I did the design and they liked it very much and the

deal got fixed,"Chatterjee said. The mandap is being based

on the theme 'Biswarupe

Sanghita' that delivers the message that Durga Puja has

now gone universal. The acknowledgement of Bengal's Durga Puja with UNESCO's heritage status has established this fact.

The eco-friendly aspect has also been kept in mind while making the mandap with the dominance of jute and herbal colours, being used for the decoration.