Glimpses of the Natun Dal pandal coming up in Behala. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

A 15,000-sq-ft plot in Behala that is a dumping ground is being turned into fishing village. To make it look authentic, the calls of water birds and night birds will be played. Fish will be hung up to dry and leaves will be strewn along the path.

A fishing boat decorated with red shalu will be displayed and during Durga puja, apart from the mother goddess, the idols of many other deities, like Manasha and Ganga, will be worshipped.

This is the perhaps the first time that the goddess will be worshipped in the manner of the fishing folk. Jeleparar ma-yer pujo, as it called, is the brainchild of an artist.

Behala’s Natun Dal, organiser of Shashi Bhushan Mukherjee Road Sarbojonin, does not lay any claim to a big budget. Its theme will highlight the plight of a neglected community that figured in many Bengali novels.

Creative adviser Rono Banerjee, who has helped puja committees like Badamtala Ashar Sangha bag several awards earlier, says: “I have spent time with the dhibar community and have realised that owing to their dwindling catch at sea, they can hardly make ends meet. So, they are fast switching over to other professions. In short, the community is on the verge of extinction.”

So, Jeleparar ma is a tribute to the community’s womenfolk who struggle to make ends meet, do odd jobs and continue to send their sons and husbands to the sea, only to hold on to their tradition.

The deity will be placed in a simple aatchala structure, in keeping with lives of fishermen. “We will bring in five to seven fishing families from villages like Burul and Gadakhali in South 24-Parganas, so that people can see for themselves how they live,” says Sandipan Banerjee, one of the organisers.