Glimpses of rural Bengal in Durga puja

JAIPUR: With the festive zest peaking, organizers of various Durga puja pandals are busy making last-minute preparations to welcome the goddess. Going traditional is the mantra this year with organizers drawing upon ancient art forms to sculpt the idol.
At the Durga Bari pandal, the craftsmen are working on recreating rural Bengal. The visitors will enter the premises through a 40-feet tall gate adorned with paintings depicting rural life. The pandal will be decorated on the 'solar shaaj' pattern, a traditional art that uses foils, sequins, artificial pearls mounted on reed stalks, intrinsic to the marshy lands in West Bengal.
The idol has been sculpted with mud and clay with the ornaments and clothes too being made of the same mixture. "Once the colours are added, the idol will appear as if it's been carved out of stone," said Sudipto Sen, secretary, Jaipur Durga Bari Association. Into its 56th year, the Durga Bari puja is the oldest in the city.
'Solar shaaj' is also the theme at the puja organized by the Agrani Cultural Association at SDM Park. Organizers of the Vaishali Nagar Durga puja, which is in its 9th year, have zeroed in on the Ajanta art for designing and sculpting the idol.
Special artists from Bengal, specially from Cooch Behar, camp in the city for two-three months to sculpt the idol and design the pandal. "On panchami, the idol will be placed in the premises, while the ceremonies will start the next day," said Dr S K Sarkar, president, Prabasi Bengali Cultural Society which organizes the puja at Jail Club. "This time we have not used synthetic oil paints for colouring the idol," he added.
Besides, promising a visual treat to the visitors in terms of the idol and pandal decoration, the 5-day festival will also witness some special performances by Kolkata-based artists. Folk or 'baul' singing features in most cultural itineraries.
To woo non-Bengali visitors, classical dance and music performances along with Hindi plays have been lined up. At the Agrani Club a Hindi play 'Khuda Khair Kare' will be staged on saptami (October 21) at the SDM Park. "A special progamme by children under 15 years of age has also been planned," said Manik Das Adhikary, secretary of the association.