Kolkata Gets Ready to Welcome the Goddess

Durga Puja is Kolkata&rsquos biggest annual celebration which has long transcended its religious appeal. As it approaches, neighbourhood organisers are finding ways to ensure that the festival is held with all pandemic-related safety rules in place.

However, most organisers still believe everything depends on how the COVID-19 virus spread pans out in the next few weeks.

It started with three festival organisers (Badamtala Ashar Sangha, 66 Palli and Kalighat Nepal Bhattacharjee Street Club) announcing a collaboration which would enable visitors to drive through the marquees (or &lsquopandal&rsquo as they are locally known as). This is expected to prevent serpentine queues, a familiar sight from previous years, as well as maintain distancing norms.

Another popular neighbourhood organiser, Jodhpur Park Saradiya Utsab Committee, is planning to take Ma Durga and her family for a ride around the city. Talking to the media, the organisers said that in the previous year, visitors would throng the streets in large numbers, which is not advisable this year. So they have decided to take a leaf out of the Jagannath Rath Yatra (the famous chariot festival) and create a &lsquoDurga Gari&rsquo. The tableaux consisting of separate vehicles &ndash one with the goddess and another with the organisers and the &lsquodhaki&rsquo &ndash will travel through the city.  But that does not mean they will do away with the rituals. Instead of holding them in one place, the rituals are likely to be held in different corners of the city.

Puja committees are also mulling launching apps where people can watch the festival rituals live. Some are planning to keep the main marquee closed to public entry but showcase the festival and its rituals on strategically located giant screens along the roadside. Even apps promising delivery of the ritual food offering or &lsquobhog&rsquo are on the anvil.

Read Durga Puja for Newbies

Apart from the neighbourhood Durga Puja celebrations, there are many old homesteads in and around Kolkata who have been holding the ritual for well over two centuries. One of the best places to see the traditional rites and rituals unfold, these too attract a large number of visitors. Many of the households have said they will hold the festival but on a low key and allow only family members to participate.

One wing of the Shobhabajar Rajbari (established by Nabakrishna Deb in the 18^th&nbspcentury) have announced they will not allow public entry this year and have made functional changes to the celebration. Unlike previous years, the idols will be cast separately and of smaller size, so that these can be carried easily for the immersion. There will not be any fanfare during the immersion and the idols will be carried to the river bank with the help of a trolley.

Read Have You Seen Durga Puja At a Bonedi Bari

Life on the virtual platform is here to stay and it is expected that many festival organisers and others will hold live streaming of the celebration. One web-based portal&nbsphas already roped in a large number of puja organisers, from traditional households to neighbourhood celebrations to institutional organisers, from Kolkata and other parts of India as well as abroad, whose celebrations will be showcased by them. They will be have both free and premium (paid) content. The organisers are also planning to introduce an app.