The presence of youths in Durga puja activities has been dwindling steadily for years, but now organisers say even children are becoming hard to find.
At EC Block, the Saptami evening stage is usually reserved for children’s performances, but this year the organisers are having to break the tradition due to poor participation. “We’ll be lucky to get three or four kids this time, and that won’t fill an entire evening,” says Mouli Nath Maji, secretary of the block as well as puja committee. “We have requested ladies to spread out their performances on Saptami as well, to save face. Youth participation in the Pujas is already nil, but what is alarming us is the trend of even children not coming forward.”
Actors of EC Block rehearse a play
Sonali Sen of CL Block shares with regret that CK-CL puja has had to cancel two children’s plays this year. “We took the decision on Sunday. Let alone youth; even nursery to Class X students are unavailable these days. Schools have scheduled exams as late as September 19, and most parents don’t want distractions before that. Since kids can’t come for group rehearsals, only solo acts will feature in our schedule,” she explains.
HA Block too had to cancel its kids’ play. “The Pujas are early this year, but schools haven’t adjusted exam schedules accordingly. With exam dates clashing with rehearsals, who will come?” asks Partha Sarathi Upadhaya, who regularly directs plays. “I needed 15 children this time, but could muster only three. We had to call it off.”
Vanishing act
Maji blames parents for the missing kids. “They are forcing both children and youths away from extracurriculars in the pursuit of careers. And whatever free time youths get, they spend on video games or hanging out in cafes,” says the resident, who is himself rehearsing for a drama.
It was not always this bleak. Upadhaya says he used to stage children’s productions regularly and in 2019 had even presented Bharate Chai with college students. “But post-pandemic, that generation is now scattered across different cities for jobs. The current college-goers are either not interested in plays or prefer to spend time on OTT platforms,” he sighs.
Actors of EC Block rehearse a play
Hanging by a thread
Yet some families make an effort. Sangita Saha of CJ Block ensures that her daughter Shuvangee, in Class X, continues to participate. “She may skip a rehearsal before an exam day, but otherwise I want her to stay active in block events,” says Saha, who herself is in charge of the cultural programmes on Sashthi and will direct a poetry-and-drama presentation with children.
“A few college students do take part, though without time for group rehearsals, they prefer solo acts,” she says, adding that the generation gap often discourages youths. “Some youths play in bands, but they know the block audience is mainly elderly and is unlikely to relate to their music. So they shy away. We have realised that we must offer new, exciting formats if we want the youth to join. So next year we plan a ramp walk. I’m sure they will participate.”
New Town Action Area IB residents prepare for a play
Non-residents step in
Tania Nandy of CG Block is directing a Bengali folk segment with singers across ages, including seven children from classes VI to X. “Above that age, students are reluctant to join. My own son Somsubro, now in college, plays the violin, but I cannot compel him to take part as his peers are not interested and he would be all alone. On the contrary, youths who have now moved out of town but return for vacations are eager to perform.”
Subhasis Mondal of BF Block agrees. His daughter Sanchayita, based in Gurgaon, is rehearsing remotely for a Navami group dance drama. “She has taken the brief and is practising her solo portions there. She’ll arrive five or six days in advance to co-ordinate with the others,” says Mondal, founder of the BF Block-based theatre group Salt Lake Abarta, which is also staging a play this year. “If we need young participants, we sometimes have to look outside our block.”
In New Town’s Action Area IB puja, director Partha Pratim Gupta admits he often has to write plays specifically so there are no young characters in them. “It has become unrealistic to expect them. In fact, we may be moving to a time when the entire Puja will be outsourced to event managers simply because there is no youth to take on the legwork,” he remarks.
Ladies of CK-CL Block rehearse a dance item
He recalls the spirit of the early days of their puja, 16 years ago: “We ourselves would fetch the idol from the sculptor, travelling with it on a lorry, singing and chatting. Now, young men have left the city. The sculptor knows this, and so he sends his own team to load and unload. Even during immersion, we elderly residents just watch from afar while hired labourers do the needful,” Gupta says. The puja has now begun keeping a separate budget for porters to do what their own youth would once do with pride.
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