Sudipa-Agnidev visit Kumartuli for kathamo puja

Every year on Rath Yatra, Sudipa and Agnidev Chatterjee make a trip to Kumartuli for kathamo puja. This year was no different. However, last year kathamo puja was held on Ulta Rath as it was ambubachi on the day of Rath Yatra, and the family doesn’t do anything auspicious related to Durga Puja on ambubachi. “This will be the tenth year of Durga Puja at our home in Kolkata.So, we plan to celebrate it in a big way if the situation permits. Like every year we offered bhog to Lord Jagannath and then went to Kumartuli for thakurer baina (ordering for the idol with some token money). After taking permission from Lord Vishwakarma we start our kathamo puja. After the puja, Agnidev applies the first soil to the kathamo (the bamboo and straw frame of the idol). On Radha Ashtami, we do sindoor daan on the kathamo as that’s our family tradition. Like every year the idol is being made by Poshupoti Rudra Pal and it is an ek chalar thakur. From Kumartuli, we go to the Ganges and perform a small puja, where we invite Ma Durga to our place. So, the rituals of Durga Puja start from Rath Yatra,” said Sudipa.
On Saptami, they used to go to the Ganga ghat for kola bou snan but from last year they started doing it at their terrace because of the pandemic. “Other than that, we don’t compromise on any other rituals of our puja,” said Sudipa.

Sudipa is upset with the condition of the artisans at Kumartuli. “On Rath Yatra there are usually a lot of orders for Durga Puja idols, but this year the artisans hardly have any business. The size of the idols too has gone down as almost all the big puja organisers have curtailed their budgets. I was told that a vaccination drive for Kumartuli artisans was organised by former India captain Sourav Ganguly’s foundation, but other than that no other organisation has taken any initiative to vaccinate them. So, some are trying to take the jab on their own for their safety. These artisans are going through a very tough time ever since the pandemic struck,” added Sudipa.