KOLKATA: In India, divorce rates have gone up by nearly 35 per cent in recent years. While there’s nothing wrong with separation and sometimes two people are simply not meant to stay together, it’s often the children who end up bearing the brunt.
This year, Golaghata Sammilani Durga Puja has decided to shed light on this sensitive issue. Their theme, ‘Break Fail’, focuses on how divorce impacts children, conveyed through thoughtful art and installations inside the pandal. Once again, Durga Puja proves it is much more than just a grand carnival. For Bengalis, it’s the biggest festival of the year, but it has also long been a canvas for voicing social concerns through creativity.
Take Nagerbazaar Laha Colony Bibek Sangha as another example. The Puja committee is celebrating its 75th year in 2025 with the theme ‘Antarale’. Through this theme, the organisers are paying tribute to fathers. Unlike mothers, who often play the more visible role, fathers are the quiet cheerleaders of our lives, standing in the background, sacrificing and supporting silently, but with equal love. Their struggles and affection often go unrecognised, and this Puja seeks to celebrate that unsung devotion.
Meanwhile, in South Kolkata, the famous Badamtala Ashar Sangha, one of the city’s most visited pandals, has selected ‘Aarjee’ (Prayer) as its theme this year. The pandal will resemble a courtroom, complete with installations of ‘Lady Justice’. The concept has been designed by Somnath Dolui, while the idol itself is being made by artist Pallab Jana.
The organisers wish to present Durga as the ultimate judge of truth and righteousness, while also reminding us that human beings, too, act as judges in their own ways. With Mahalaya just weeks away, the artisans are working tirelessly to bring these powerful themes to life.