Diplomats in Kolkata give the iconic Mahishasuramardini a global twist

At the crack of dawn on Mahalaya every year, Bengalis residing all across the globe welcome the auspicious Debipaksha by tuning into their radio sets. Listening to Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s Chandipath in his rich baritone – in the iconic All India Radio programme Mahisasuramardini – is an annual ritual. Given the global appeal of the occasion that is followed by Durga Puja festivities, Kolkata’s diplomats and expatriate community have decided to give an international twist to the audio montage in collaboration with musician duo

Sourendro Mullick

and

Soumyojit Das

, who will help them present parts of the Mahalaya programme in their respective native languages.
On Thursday, newly appointed American Consul General

Melinda

Pavek, Italian Consul General Gianluca Rubagotti and Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan director Astrid Wege came together at the Sovabazar Rajbari to shoot for a video that will feature a collage of their performances along with an original agomoni gaan by the duo. A Kolkata-based teacher of Russian origin, Anna Saha, read out the Russian portion of the script.
Melinda, who is looking forward to her first Puja in Kolkata, told us, “Festivals can be a great way to introduce and welcome people to one’s culture. It’s been just a few weeks since I came here and I’m so excited about Puja. I find the idea of worshipping a feminine power really fascinating and the tales of Goddess Durga are truly intriguing."
Sourendro and Soumyojit have observed that their young foreign students – from both Bengali and international communities – are keen to learn about the significance of Mahalaya. “Unlike us, they don’t grow up with the same festive fervour surrounding Mahalaya and Mahisasuramardini. We always felt the need to reach out to this community – third-generation NRIs and non-Indian international audiences. And who can present it better than the diplomats and cultural officials?” said Soumyojit, adding, “I’m grateful to

Partha Mukherjee

, my professor from St Xavier’s for translating the entire thing into English. Based on that, it was further translated into the officials’ native languages.”
Another attraction of the video is the performance by Chhau artistes from Purulia who will be seen as Ma Durga, her children and Mahishasura. Sharing more details about the project, Sourendro said, “No Bengali can ever avoid the Puja excitement that begins right on Mahalaya, which is on October 6 this year. Even last year, the festive spirit was high despite the pandemic scare. This year is no exception. We will try to bring out that flavour in our video. You might see a Chhau artiste dressed as

Saraswati

going to work using public transport or you may see someone else preparing dhunuchi in a government office and its smell gradually spreading all over the place. These are just a few ways to show that with Puja almost here, we can’t help feeling distracted,” said Sourendro.
The musician is very proud to have involved Chhau artistes and dhakis. “This pandemic has wreaked havoc on the livelihood of these artistes. Many of them have been forced to completely stop performing and switch to other occupations. If this goes on, our traditional art forms will become extinct. We, in our very limited capacity, are trying to employ some of these artistes so that they feel encouraged in this hour of crisis,” Sourendro added.