kolkata: The idols of Goddess Durga of three community Pujas, all conceived by young theme maker Anirban Das, will be preserved.
Das etched out themes for five community Pujas in the city this year and three of them were part of the Carnival at Red Road on Friday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during her virtual inauguration of various community Pujas in the city had showered lavish praise on the innovative themes by Das and had also given directions for their preservation.
“The idols of both Bharat Chakra Club of Dum Dum Park and that of Dakshindari near Ultadanga have been made of fibre while the one of Hatibagan Nabin Pally has been made of wood.
The decision has already been taken for preserving these three idols. The place or the venue for preservation will be decided soon,” Das said. For Bharat Chakra, Das’s creation was a commentary on contemporary times where the ruler and the priest believe they can pull strings “to make God do as they like” and in this process continue to feed their egos and keep making mistakes. The theme ‘Bhranti’ (illusion) portrays that men might think they are powerful, but actually it is the Mother Goddess who is powerful. It is the Almighty who is making us all dance to his music. He pulls the strings of our luck, just like puppets are pulled by the strings of the puppet master. The Durga Puja of Hatibagan Nabin Pally had immersed the Puja revellers in the whimsical world of Sukumar Ray — ‘Abol Tabol’ to be precise. The streets, buildings and even the interiors inside a few buildings were painted to look just like a 2-dimensional comic book.
Images of characters Sukumar Ray were painted on facades that included images of Hnukumukho Hyangla, Kumro Potash, Ramgorurer Chhana, Tyansh Goru etc.
For Dakshindari Club, the life of the local people who have been making various articles of clay through generations was churned out. The trials and tribulations of the people of Dakshindari came alive through the decor of the Puja.
The other two Pujas whose theme was conceptualised by Das were Hindustan Club in Gariahat and New Town Sarbojonin Durgotsav, both massive crowd pullers.