In my school and college days, 80 per cent of my female friends dreamt only of landing good husbands. Only 20 per cent wanted to pursue a career or be independent. The parents too would groom daughters to be eligible just for marriage,” recalled elocutionist Bratati Bandyopadhyay at a panel discussion on woman power at AK Block puja on Chaturthi. “While the 80:20 per cent ratio may have improved to about 70:30 now, women’s empowerment is still largely restricted to a certain stratum of society.”

The discussion was being moderated by poet Yashodhara Ray Chaudhuri while writer Chaitali Chattopadhyay and psychologist and writer Anuttama Banerjee were the other speakers.

Taking off from Bandyopadhyay's observation, Ray Chaudhuri had the audience chuckling as she recalled the days of yore when every young girl would be made to sit with a harmonium and learn two Dwijendrageetis, two Rabindrasangeetis and one kirtan in order to be marriage-ready. “While we have certainly progressed since our grandmothers’ generation, it comes a rude shock when we hear about violence against women even in the 21st century,” said Ray Chaudhuri.

Chattopadhyay felt the sad truth was that women are still treated as second class citizens. “Rural India rubs this in in a crude way, urban India in a shrewd way. When I try to preach independence to domestic helps they tell me such talk doesn’t apply to them. They say men will tear them apart (chneere khnure khabe) if they think of living independently.”
Ray Chaudhuri narrated how a domestic help once kept on talking of fixing a door in her house. “I couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal and why it was costing her so much money so I enquired if the door would be made of wood or plastic. The woman scoffed and said nothing less than steel would keep predators away from her.”

“Of course women are strong but if they have to use every iota of their strength to ensure basic security, what else can they manage,” wondered Banerjee. “So not just women, we need men to recognise women power too.”

All speakers commended the AK Block committee for the theme of their pandal, whose walls told the story of a tea-seller’s daughter who struggles against the odds to get an education and then land a job. “But there are still many households where if a woman wants to pursue a career, she is told to spend an equal number of hours at home cooking and cleaning,” said Banerjee.

Bandyopadhyay then turned the discussion to a social phenomenon that had the audience up in arms in her support — the portrayal of women in TV serials. “All mothers-in-law are shown in negative light, every man has three to four wives… Women are clearly disrespected in these serials and they send a wrong message to the audience,” she said.

“I feel we have a responsibility towards the next generation,” summed up Ray Chaudhuri. “Just the way our grandmothers strived to give us a better world we have to invoke the strength within and speak out so at least the next generations have an equal place in society.”

Brinda Sarkar

Lions dance in BJ Block

A lion roared at BJ Block on Saptami but it was not Durga's mount. It was part of the Chinese lion dance performed by Fitness Club, a group from Tangra that teaches lion dance, tai chi, martial arts etc.

The dance began with drumming, to which two lions from both sides of the stage matched steps. “In Chinese tradition, drums are believed to eradicate evil and send positive vibes," explained James Liao, founder of the group and a part of the show. "This drumbeat is represents the heartbeat of the lion and the movements of the lion speed up with the beats of the drum.”

The dancers under the lion costumes performed stunts by standing on top of one another, such that it appeared like the lion was standing on hind legs. Towards the end the lions jumped off the stage, played with audience members and gifted them fruits from their mouths. Pandal-hoppers stopped in their tracks to watch and children seated in the audience were highly amused.

There was also a tai chi performance, based on the ancient martial art form. “Tai chi is now performed as a dance too, particular to usher in prosperity and good fortune,” said Liao, who led the team of nine youths. “Although only students of Indian origin took part today I have several Chinese origin students too. The youngest is my five-year-old daughter!” said Liao, who also teaches and performs in places like Malaysia.

The BJ Block puja’s joint secretary Bhaskar Sinha Roy credited the Chinese consul general Ma Zhanwu for making the lion dance possible. “The Chinese consul general had inaugurated our puja on Chaturthi and announced his plans of organising a lion dance in our block today. Everyone enjoyed it,” he said.

Shrija Bose

8-year-old drums up a beat

An eight-year-old at AJ Block on Ashtami played the drums to tunes that were composed way before his birth and in some cases, even the birth of his parents. Little Aprotim Kundu was at ease playing Mean Jumper Blues, a number by Blind Lemon Jefferson, an American singer of the 1920s. He also played Heroes, a David Bowie number from the 1970s and Sing for Absolution, a 2004 song by the British band Muse.

Aprotim said the songs were all his favourites. “I practise regularly for half an hour so today’s performance didn’t need any special effort. I just had to select the songs,” smiled Aprotim, a student of Class III, DPS Megacity. In fact, he sat chatting calmly with his friends before taking stage. “More than nervous, I’m excited,” he said.

His mother Arpita Kundu was apprehensive about him wanting to learn an instrument that no one in their family had ever learnt before. “While a few members in our family have played tabla and guitar none had anything to do with drums. But three years ago, Aprotim watched the film Whiplash, about a drummer, and insisted on learning how to play drums. We took him to an institute but he was underage for admission,” she said.

But at the age of six he was admitted to the Trinity College London institute. “We tried to entice him with sounds of other instruments but he was adamant the drums,” said Arpita.

To ensure neighbours are not disturbed by the sounds of his practice, Aprotim's parents have got him a mute pad (which reduces the noise produced whilst playing).

Proud grandfather Subhas Chandra Kundu helped the boy place and remove the instrument from stage. “I used to play the keyboard earlier, but am out of practice now,” said the man who ferries Aprotim to and from music classes. “I also ensure he practises diligently at home.”

Shatadipa Bhattacharya 

Run to the pujas

While most people “hopped” to pandals, some 15 residents of New Town's Uniworld City ran there on Saptami morning. Another 20 residents cycled. All members of the complex's running group UniRunners, they wanted to drive home the message that festivals are not an excuse to skip your daily workouts.

Despite living in New Town, the residents felt the exercise would be most effective in Salt Lake. “This is because the New Town pujas are all inside gated communities and accessing them would be a problem. Also, the design of Salt Lake is such that we were easily able to run a circular 10km route and return to our starting points,” said one of the runners, Prithwish Mukherjee.

So at 5am on Saptami, the residents drove down to City Centre Salt Lake and hit the road. They covered 10 pujas in blocks like DB, CA, BF, AJ and BJ and even crossed the footbridge over Kestopur Canal to visit the Baahubali pandal at Sreebhumi before retuning to City Centre and driving to work or home. “We had chosen the early hours as the weather would be pleasant and roads empty.  We saw some lovely pujas and I shall return with my mother later tonight to show her the best ones,” smiled Vijay Dara, a native of Andhra Pradesh who had specifically chosen UniWorld City to reside in Calcutta as it had an active running circuit.

Mukherjee said that various running clubs in the city try to do the rounds of pujas in their localities and UniRunners had first started the practise last year. We could not find any other pandal hoppers out to see pujas at that hour but there were several morning walkers, who looked curiously at the runners and cyclists in florescent jerseys. “We senior citizens are regular morning walkers and do not binge on junk food even during pujas but the youth indeed indulges. I'm sure these runners will inspire them,” said a BJ Block resident Sila Sikdar, who spotted the group running out of the BJ Block pandal.

The runners themselves were inspired by the pretty pandals they saw. “I was most delighted to see the idols at blocks like AE (Part 1). The artistic idol there looked so athletic,” smiled Susmita Jha, herself a tall and toned runner.
Instead of skipping workouts on festive days, the group felt one should try and add a festive flavour to their workouts. “On Holi, don gulal and run, on Christmas wear Santa caps and run and during Puja, run to the pandals,” smiled Vijay.

Brinda Sarkar

Comic caper at BH Block

It was a laugh-a-minute at BH Block on Panchami as an all-women cast took stage to perform the play Byapika Biday.

Those like Swati Mukherjee could barely be recognised as her face was disguised behind a moustache. “I am involved with plays in our block puja for over 27 years and I love acting,” she said.

For Rima Bhattacharya, “rehearsal manei khawa”. Bhattacharya, who played the role of Mini in the play, is a DPS Newtown teacher whose fondest memories of rehearsal involved laughter and eating in between. “I love teaching but the rehearsals revived my spirit,” she said.

The audience enjoyed the show too. “The reason I came to Calcutta from Vellore during the Pujas was to see my mother perform,” said Debayan Bhattacharya, who couldn’t stop clicking her pictures. “I'm glad she got out of her mundane life to do what she loves.”

Shrija Bose

AA Block brings Ray figures to stage

Feluda met Apu-Durga on stage this Ekadashi in AA Block. The meeting of Satyajit Ray's celluloid icons was occasioned by a play enacted by residents titled Abar Bachhar Pochis Por.

The theme of the play was the reunion in a contemporary socio-political setting of characters who appeared in Ray's films 25 years after the filmmaker received a lifetime Oscar and breathed his last in 1992. The play was written by AA Block-based engineer Arnab Bhattacharya. “I wrote the script in haste — in two weeks’ time — when I heard that the person in charge of our plays every year will be out of station during the Pujas. It was an attempt to create something innovative and entertaining with some dialogues and parody, and not just for the sake of putting something together for the stage.” He got help from neighbour Anustup Roy Burman.

The play opened with the dance of Bhuter Rani, searcing for the missing Bhuter Raja. In the next scene, Biswambhar Roy, the zaminder of Jalsaghar, appears to whom Udayan Pandit of Hirak Rajar Deshe appeals for a grant for his school.
Mani of Manihara enters and talks about her passion for ornaments. In the meantime, Maganlal Meghraj, accompanied by Lalmohon Ganguly, comes to Roy's mansion and watches a baiji dance in the jalsaghar. Mani suddenly informs that her jewellery box is missing from her room and requests Roy to inform Hirak Raja. Hirak Raja discusses some burning issues of the day with Gobeshak like demonetisation, black money and GST before appointing Feluda to search for the missing jewellery.

Feluda interrogates Durga of Pather Panchali about the ornaments, asking whether she suspects anyone. Durga replies that those could be in the treasury of the Syndicate. Meanwhile, Maganlal invites Feluda to his Salt Lake residence and offers him an iPhone7 as bribe asking him not to take up the case. Feluda suspects Maganlal and refuses.

In the next scene, he catches Maganlal red-handed with the jewellery box. But all the ornaments in the box are found to be imitations. The original ornaments, Feluda declares, are in the bank locker.

The playwright tried to disseminate social messages through the play. A character introduced from outside Ray’s cast was that of a reporter, Miss Sengupta. She takes a selfie with Feluda and Lalmohonbabu and in course of the conversation also requests Feluda to quit smoking. She also asks Lalmohonbabu about his plans for his next story. “Sarada-y CBI," Jatayu readily reports the title, much to the amusement of the audience.

At the end, all characters gather on stage and sing a parody in chorus Aaj Labanhradey khnati hirer chamak, in the tune of the Hirak Rajar Deshe song Eshe hirak deshey. Abhik Bhattacharjee, the Hirak Raja, received the maximum kudos from the audience.

Even days after the staging of the play, Baisampayan Bhattacharya remained in a daze at the thought of having played Feluda. “This is the best role of my acting career. For the last couple of months, I gave up domestic chores like taking our son to school and even took time out from my business to rehearse at home,” said the veteran on the block's cultural scene.

His entire family was part of the cast, with five-year-old son Baitan playing Apu and wife Nandita debuting as Miss Sengupta. “I was supposed to interview Feluda. The first day during rehearsal, he started laughing at having to face me as a reporter,” Nandita said.

“The toughest part for me was convincing some of the actors to play the roles I was offering them and not any other,” said  Arnab, the director.

Bharati Kanjilal

Dance to toon tunes in BC Block

It was cartoon time at BC Block on Panchami as kids grooved to the title tracks of cartoon shows like Chhota Bheem, Doraemon, Bal Ganesh, Little Krishna, Shin Chan and The Jungle Book.

“I love watching Shin Chan. He’s funny and I try to imitate him at home sometimes,” said five-year-old Dibija Ghosh. “On the pretext of practice, I got to watch the cartoons more often too.”

“Every year we try to involve women and children in the pujas’ cultural programmes and we get a choreographer, Sima Mondal, to help us with it,” said puja secretary Swagata Dasgupta. “This year we chose cartoons as the theme for the kids and ‘Radha’ for youths and ladies,” said Dasgupta, who along with Soma Sen had narrated the script for the Radha programme.

Shatadipa Bhattacharya