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| Hindustan Park Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee |
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| Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha Puja Committee |
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| Tridhara Sammilani |
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| Shibmandir Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee |
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| Olabibitala Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee, Howrah |
Lenin Sarani-Sovabazar-Hatibagan
Pandals in north and central Calcutta suffer from space constraints. But the 11 pujas on the route have done their best to work around this handicap. Not everyone has succeeded, though. The Mahallar Sarbojanin alley is a traffic nightmare on Monday.
Awareness seems to have improved about the needs of the elderly or physically challenged. Only two pujas did not have wheelchair access. Even on Panchami, everyone had fire extinguishers in place.
Some pujas have conveyed strong environmental messages through their choice of themes. At Adhibasibrinda in Kanai Dhar Lane, fishing nets are shown to capture and haul up maimed dolphin figures to boats, as they are done during an annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan.
Here streetchildren are gifted clothes for Puja and raincoats in monsoon. About 6,000 pairs of spectacles have been distributed after eye check-ups. A health camp is also held annually.
At Sovabazar Beniatola Sarbojanin, the path to the idol, painted with lead-free paint, is lined by panels highlighting how the Ganga is polluted and suggesting ways to minimise the damage.
The Sovabazar puja teaches computers to local youth at a minimal cost. A heart patient, who works as a domestic help, was handed Rs 50,000 for surgery. Books are distributed to students in nearby municipal schools. Clothes are given to 100 kids. A blood donation camp took place a fortnight ago while talks are on for a health camp.
In neighbouring Sovabazar Burtolla Sarbojanin, with a meagre budget of Rs 1.4 lakh, the boys have decorated the pandal themselves. In their first year as a CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja participant, they said they wanted to learn through the experience and were all ears for tips from the judges.
Jorasanko 7er Palli, in the Tagore backyard, is busy planning for a clothes donation event on Sashthi. “Last year, the count was 1,165 people. We try not to turn anyone away,” said Joydip Das. The club goes around the area on winter nights, distributing blankets to people on pavements. Community participation is strong in Jorasanko Utsav and Bhasha Divas, their pet events. A health camp is held during Jorasanko Utsav. “We started our blood donation camp 17 years ago. Until a decade ago, the count would be around 50. This year we had 135 donors.”
Ahiritola Sarbojanin funds marriage of impoverished girls. “For seven years, we were supporting the dialysis of two persons. They died recently,” said Sushanta Saha.
Courtesy the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), they have a green toilet installed. So does Sikdarbagan. The latter, a fabulous citadel using 6.5lakh mushrooms, holds a woman’s cricket tournament for local boudis and didis besides sports for children.
Nagarik Kalyan Committee in Lenin Sarani has a permanent water dispenser in place.
At 47 Pally Jubak Brinda on Central Avenue, the organisers have dispensed with loudspeakers because of Islamia Hospital across the road, with which they have a pact to facilitate in medical emergencies. Halsibagan has a fire alarm installed. Its volunteers were mindful to open the VIP gate to let an elderly lady in and guide her to the goddess.
Lake Market-Mudiali
Lack of basic amenities at several pujas couldn’t blight the overwhelming enthusiasm of the crowd, streaming from one pandal to the other despite the sultry weather on Panchami.
At Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club, the small village of Daronda in Birbhum district comes to life on a limited budget. The funds constraint shows in the provisions — or the lack of them — the puja has made for the visitors. But the club’s commitment to community work more than makes up for missing facilities in the pandal. The year-round social service involves distributing wheelchairs to those in need and organising free medical check-up camps for children and women.
True spirit veteran Mudiali Club with its “save tree” theme has taken the security aspect around its pandal quite seriously. It has smoke detectors, diesel generators (in case of power cuts), surveillance cameras and toilets to make pandal-hoppers feel safe and comfortable.
Bengal United Club is one of the few pujas that has a ramp and a wheelchair as well. South End Club has built separate toilets for men and women alongside the pandal.
Badamtala Ashar Sangha, another True Spirit veteran, has used fire-resistant material in their pandal. “With so much violence all around, we wanted to portray Durga as a symbol of peace, blessing with her hands instead of holding weapons,” said Sandip Barik, the club treasurer.
At Ballygunge Cultural Association, the pandal looks futuristic — a fireproof steel structure where acrylic colours and LED lights are being used to minimise environmental damage.
Ballygunge-Lake Market
The shabeki theme and smaller idols make several pujas stand out in the Ballygunge-Lake Market area.
These pujas have attracted nearly 10,000 pandal-hoppers since Chaturthi, but many of them haven’t been able to meet the True Spirit safe-and-green guidelines.
The Lake Gardens People’s Association puja was the best of the lot with a cultured grass pathway leading to the pandal that boasts of CCTV cameras, smoke detectors, a water dispenser and a help desk. The organisers promised to set up a proper medical kiosk. With Durga in a fiery avatar wearing a fire wheel as her halo, it leaves no room for doubt that the puja’s theme is fire.
The pandal at Hindustan Park Sarbojonin Durgotsav looked red and resplendent with diyas, sindoor, patachitra, lal-paar sari and other related items used in the decoration. But safety guidelines and help desks were yet to be arranged till Monday. A CMC toilet and a ramp for wheelchair-bound people (though no wheelchair was in sight) were the least the puja has managed so far to go with the true spirit ideals.
“An ambulance and a nurse would be stationed here from Panchami evening. As you can see, things are warming up today and we are busy with the arrangements,” said Arijit Roy Chowdhury, the puja organising secretary.
Shibmandir Sarbojanin Durgotsab Samiti is setting sail this year on a big ship, the theme and shape of their pandal. “It represents how the youth are leaving the city for better shores. The brain drain has left us with little manpower to make the puja arrangements,” said Sandeep Ganguly a member of the committee as he showed the interiors full of patachitra and other artwork. The lack of manpower explained the organisers’ last-minute rush to get the True Spirit requirements in place.
Pally Mangal Samity on Prince Anwar Shah Road sported an eco-friendly pandal decorated in the shabeki way. But the organisers were yet to factor in adequate number of waste bins, a first-aid facility and a wheelchair ramp.
Vivekananda Park- Golpark-Jadavpur
The focus varied from puja to puja — some giving prominence to security and safety, others making social service their key commitment. Jodhpur Park Saradiya Utsab Committee has installed not only eight fire extinguishers but also water sprinklers. To monitor any untoward incident, it has CCTV cameras. “Our primary concern is security. We want everyone to enjoy a safe puja,” said Sumanta Roy, the secretary of the committee.
The puja has porta potties but only for senior citizens and children.
Social service scores over everything else at Dhakuria Sarbojanin Durgotsab and Tridhara Sammilani on Manoharpukur Road. At Dhakuria, Ashtami bhog for 22 elderly people from Abasar, an old age home, has been lined up along with a neighbourhood pandal-hopping trip.
Tridhara Sammilani will sponsor three poor students from medical, engineering and law as well as treat 1,500 orphan children with lunch and new clothes on Sashthi morning.
The themes are traditional with a touch of modernity in this area. The Jodhpur Park Saradiya Utsab Committee has gone for a rajbari with the deity made out of paper stacks. The idol at Shyama Pally Shyama Sangha is an Indian girl in Egyptian attire. She is not carrying any weapon. “We are promoting non-violence. We want the world to be a colourful and peaceful place,” said Sapan Pal, the working president of the committee.
Jodhpur Park 95 Pally Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee has a similar theme. The pandal is in the shape of a lotus and the idol has the look of Aparna from Kalidas’s Kumarasambhava with shanti slokas playing in the background. The puja, at 65, has two wheelchairs and a separate passage with a ramp for people with disabilities.
Dhakuria Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee at Babubagan scores high on hygiene and comfort. The dustbins placed at corners are cleaned every two hours and there are two mobile toilets close to the air-conditioned pandal, made to represent an old rajbari in ruins.
Dhakuria Sarbojanin Durgotsab, Jodhpur Park Saradiya Utsab Committee and Shyama Pally Shyama Shangha have wheelchairs but no ramp.
Golaghata-Dum Dum
A blend of professionalism and personal touch can be felt in pandals in the Golaghata-Dum Dum area. Nothing is larger than life but each puja has thoughtful themes such as Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra where steel utensils are used to create a “reflection of self”. Most pujas score highly on the true spirit parameters — fire management, social work and emergency health facilities. Almost all of them have ambulances to deal with emergencies.
At Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra, the fire safety plan sticks to the book right down to sprinklers. Two diesel generators are on standby for blackouts. A babycare zone, mobile toilets and special platforms for senior citizens and people with disabilities to rest and catch their breath are facilities that attracted admiration from pandal-hoppers.
Dum Dum Park Sarbojanin showcases the artforms of Bengal. “The idea is to promote the forgotten art of Bengal. We will keep the decibel level low such as no loud songs that can spoil the ambience,” said Subir Majumdar, the secretary of the committee. Its healthcare facilities are such that even a minor surgery can be performed.
Dum Dum Mall Pally Sarbojanin and Golaghata Sammilani are in the other end of the spectrum: no toilets and no first-aid kits either. Amra Sabai Club has a beautiful pandal and idol, but is low on the True Spirit quotient because of lack of space and inadequate funding.
Howrah
Calcutta’s sister across the Hooghly knows how to show its true spirit, even in the uncomfortable heat of Panchami.
Green is the recurring theme at most pandals. Olabibitola Sarbojanin Durgotsab Committee stands out through its depiction of a sunflower as “ultimate strength”. “The sunflower can ignore the glare and derive its life energy from the sun,” said Akhil Bondhu Bhattacharjee, the media manager of the committee.
This 67-year-old puja has a 10-year association with the CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja. This year, like all other preceding years, it is ready to make the visitors feel safe and cosy. The main attraction is artist Subodh Roy’s LED and plywood masterpiece, which is under constant CCTV surveillance and insured for Rs 9 lakh. “We have a Rs 2 lakh insurance for our visitors,” Bhattacharya said.
Howrah Saraswati Club is the other puja with complete insurance for pandal-hoppers and CCTV cameras for surveillance. The pandal, making optimum use of space, depicts the horror of acid rain and cites ways to control the scourge.
Howrah Tarun Samity has brought Varanasi to the Hooghly riverbank. The theme: water conservation. The brain behind the theme: Pritam Das, a Class XII commerce student.
Tarun Samity boasts of a successful year of social service. “We organise an awareness programme on breast and kidney care, the only club to do so. We provide free health check-ups as well,” said Mohan Basu, a member of the committee.
At Howrah Bijoy Sammilany and Jatiya Sevadal, a depleting countryside adds sharp contrast to a rural scene in its resplendent glory. Artist Sumit Dutta of Torpedo Welfare Society uses banana leaves made of cloth and touched up with vegetable dyes to show Durga’s kolabou avatar.
“The metaphor plays well for the predominantly agrarian Indian economy. Youngsters should know the importance of agriculture,” he added.
“Nothing explains discipline better than geometry,” feels Pradip Datta, artist and creator of the Chittaranjan Smriti Mandir Durgotsab Committee pandal. Saluting its 14-year association with the true spirit ethos, the committee has distributed nine hand tricycles to people with physical disabilities and had funded 36 eye operations.
Social commitments go beyond humans when it comes to Pagla Fouj, the self-styled saviour of street dogs.
If there is one puja that every kid will ask their parents to take them to, it is Howrah Anusilan Samity’s recreation of the set from Chander Pahar, complete with Bunyip, Shankar’s cottage by a Ugandan railway station and the lion.
True spirit debutants Kannar Bagan and Bagbagini Byam Samity are struggling to find the right spirit, though.
