MY PUJA

JOGEN CHOWDHURY

Artist Jogen Chowdhury on Puja then and now:

I still vividly remember my earliest childhood experiences of Durga Puja in Kotalipara, Faridpur (now in Bangladesh). It seems so vastly different from the Durga Puja I have witnessed today, as a judge of the CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja.

There used to be a mandap in one corner of our aatchala house. About 10-12 families of our family tree lived in this house and celebrated Durga Puja together.

Our extended family of those who had moved to Calcutta would return home every year to be part of this celebration. The kumors (potters) would come to our house and create the idol from scratch in front of our eyes. There also was a chatal (a raised platform) adjacent to the house where jatras and songs were performed during the festive season. I remember all of this so vividly that I could sketch it even today.

Even my initial experiences of the city of Calcutta and how it celebrated Puja were a far cry from the city and its festivities today. I remember my first Durga Puja in Calcutta in 1948. We lived on Manoharpukur Road. There was a club that organised the festivities, much like the clubs that organised the pujas we visited today. I remember Hemanta Mukhopadhyay performing at Manoharpukur Road, but there were no blaring speakers and the setting was informal.

All the pujas we visited today were beautiful, all with their own merits and demerits. But the intimate feel of the pujas I grew up experiencing, both in Faridpur and later in Calcutta, was almost wholly absent. Perhaps due to overpopulation and/or immigration from the surrounding areas, both the city and its most vibrant festival have grown crowded and impersonal.

Puja has also become more of a public spectacle. Perhaps then it was not as glitzy as it is now — and indeed the city looked shabby in comparison — yet there was so much more heart. The ideology of life was somehow different. It was based on human relationships, which was what Durga Puja was also about.

The city looks visually polluted now; banners and advertisements crowd the streets and especially the areas around pandals. For example, the Kashi Bose Lane pandal and idol were very traditional and beautiful.

The building right opposite the pandal was old and dilapidated and architecturally stunning. It could have been woven into this old-school theme perfectly, but instead, it was almost covered in the insignia of sponsors.

Yet, Durga Puja has not lost its charm. This year I’ve been in Calcutta throughout, and walked around the South City area, where I live, with my family to some local pujas. We also visited some pandals in Salt Lake with my brother. Puja is a time for family and celebration, and the year is incomplete without observing it.

The True Spirit experience was definitely a highlight for me this year, because we travelled to so many different parts of Calcutta and got an opportunity to be part of their celebrations.

(As told to Pujarini Sen)