Transplanted banyan tree becomes khuti puja totem for Park Circus Durga Puja

Kolkata: After the successful shifting of the century-old banyan tree at Park Circus Maidan on Wednesday night, the Park Circus Sarbojanin Durgotsav adopted it as their ‘khuti’, observing the transplantation event as the club’s ‘khuti puja’ for their 84th year of Durga Puja celebration. Instead of observing ‘khuti puja’ the traditional way, the club has decided to plant 10,000 saplings in the next one month before ‘Ulto Rath Yatra’ and fixed up a tentative budget of Rs 10 lakh for the plantation drive.

Interestingly, the giant tree was replanted in the place where the club used to perform the ‘khuti puja’— the ceremonial start to the Durga Puja preparations — every year. “We decided finally that this re-plantation action was the khuti puja for Park Circus’s Uddipani this year,” said Arjun Dhawan, coordinator of the puja, whose brainchild is the idea. “It is a fact that khuti puja is a trunk of a tree put in the ground, paving the foundation of our Maa’s house,” said Dipak Ghosh, the club secretary.Bijlee Rahman (68), a resident of Dargah Road and also an active member of the puja committee for the last two decades, had actively assisted the re-plantation process. “It was very hot and humid and it was important to water the trunk,” said Rahman, who arranged for a KMC water tanker on Thursday morning.Uddipani club, that organizes the Durga Puja, has a member strength of about 500. All the members took a unanimous decision on Friday to spend the entire Rs 5 lakh of the budgeted expenses for their upcoming ‘Khuti Puja’ on the Rath Yatra day for fresh plantation and procuring saplings. Rajendra Vidhawan (75), a Park Circus resident, after noticing the transplanted trunk on Friday morning contacted the club organiser and showed his willingness to support. “To me this is the most environmentally-friendly khuti puja I have ever witnessed,” he said.“Businessman Naveen Saraff, who is also a main patron of the puja, has agreed to support with Rs 5 lakh donation towards the plantation drive,” said Gaurav Bahri Dhawan, president of the puja committee. Also many club members are willing to donate more money for the upcoming plantation drive . This year the club has already fixed up a separate budget of Rs 50 lakh for Durga Puja.“It always makes me proud if people get inspired by my act,” said Sanjay Jaisingh after knowing the club's decision. Jaisingh spearheaded the initiative to replant the giant tree on Wednesday knowing the noble idea.
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