Durga Puja made its return to a village in the Sundarbans after a hiatus of over 15 years, following the erosion of the local bazaar by the nearby river, which led to the relocation of the traders who previously financed the Puja.
This year, the villagers of Tushkhali in the Sandeshkhali block of the Sundarbans, North 24-Parganas, celebrated Durga Puja with the help of an NGO. They relished khichuri and alur dum on Saptami and Navami, and on Ashtami, the women of the village offered flowers to the goddess.
The Durga Puja took place within a school in the village. A pandal was erected outside for villagers to congregate and enjoy feasts during the festival days, reminiscent of the traditions before 2009, when Cyclone Aila struck the Sundarbans.
There was a local market, Atapur Bazar, in Tushkhali near the Kalagadi river, an estuarine tidal river of the Sundarbans.
“About 20 years back, the Atapur Bazar eroded into the Kalagadi river, which became wider and engulfed portions of our village. The traders of the bazaar used to fund and organise the Durga Puja every year,” said Haradhan Das, a resident of Tushkhali. “Now the bazaar has shifted to Dhuchnikhali, several kilometres away from our village,” he said.
Naba Kumar Sing, a resident of the village, stated that following the relocation of the traders, they conducted Durga Puja for three consecutive years until Cyclone Aila struck the Sundarbans.
“The damages caused by Aila were huge. We were then struggling to survive and so there was no Durga Puja in our village since then,” he said.
The celebration after 15 years break
According to residents, the village is home to approximately 300 families. The majority of men are employed as migrant workers, while others engage in fishing. In addition to their daily household responsibilities, women also participate in shrimp catching to assist in providing for their families.
“Most people are very poor and we cannot afford to raise funds for a Durga Puja anymore,” said Das. “Residents would barely enjoy the Puja because to visit a pandal they have to travel several kilometres,” he said.
One villager pointed out that it often happened that women from the village would seek to visit a pandal several kilometres distant to offer their prayers. However, when they reached their destination, they would find that the puja had already taken place.
An NGO, whose members frequently visit the area to distribute clothes and other items, came forward to fund the Puja.
“On September 20, we went to Tushkhali to distribute clothes. The villagers told us that we will be enjoying Durga Puja, but they don’t have a festival,” said Kailash Pati Mandal, secretary, Sabdarnagar Education and Welfare Society. “We felt bad for them and offered to provide funds, and they agreed to go ahead with the Puja,” he said.
There was barely time for organising a Durga Puja. The villagers managed to make an artisan agree to prepare the idol in such a short time.
The NGO provided around ₹1.35 lakh.
“We asked the organisers to raise donations from the villagers to make them feel an ownership,” said Mandal. They could raise only ₹1,900.
However, with all the funds, they set up a pandal and arranged for feats on two days.
“We were apprehensive, but on Saptami, when we visited the village, we were surprised to see that everything was in place, including a dhaki,” said Mandal.