Chennai: Covid reduces Durga puja festivities to live-streaming

CHENNAI: Live-streamed rituals, smaller idols, pre-recorded cultural programmes, and packaged prasad are a few of the measures being taken by Durga puja organizers in Chennai this year to adhere to Covid-19 regulations.
"The safety of our members and other visitors is priority," says Mukul Dasgupta, secretary, Dakshini Society, Anna Nagar, whose organization will be holding a low-key celebration at a hall in the area this October."Our puja used to be open to all, however, we are not in a position to accept guests now," says Dasgupta, who is keeping the pandal private to avoid overcrowding.
Puja rituals take place from October 22 to 26, starting with Sashti and closing with Dashami celebrations. The event, which used to be a grand celebration with a wide array of food stalls, dance, drama and singing performances, devotional pujas, and distribution of bhog (offerings to the goddess), have been reduced to live streaming, just to be viewed from home. South Madras Cultural Association, Indira Nagar, which is known to hold the largest pandal in the city has switched to hosting a private 'ghot' puja (worship of a vessel symbolizing the goddess) at their club.
"We will live-telecast our pujo arthi and pushpanjali," says Sudip Mitra, president, of the association.
Dr Amit K Biswas, president, The Bengal Association, T Nagar, says they have decided to go with a 6-foot Durga idol this year instead of their usual 9-foot one and the rituals can be viewed through a link.
The pandals which had over 10,000 visitors and about 1,200 takers for bhog each day, will now witness less than 20 people, says Mitra. Though there were plans, says Mitra, to deliver the bhog of khichdi, rice, vegetable, and sweet, that too has been cancelled due to safety concerns. Some organizers like Bengal Association are doing away with bhog entirely.
For Kamalika Poddar, who has been practicing for her solo dance drama based on Rabindranath Tagore's Chandalika for this year's cultural celebration, the programmes and connecting with the community is what she will miss the most. "Rehearsals have been difficult, but we have pre-recorded the programme for the celebrations," she says.
Apart from the cultural programmes, there are virtual competitions being organized by a few pandal organizers. "The traditional competitions such as golgappa eating and rolling rotis, have now transformed into quizzes, photography, and drawing," says Dr Neela Ganguly, cultural secretary, South Madras Cultural Association.