What do Lord Shiva’s ubiquitous “dumbroo”, the humble lauki (gourds) or those long-forgotten wooden toys with wheels have in common?
New-age materials are used for Devi Durga’s mandap to get a competitive edge over others
KOLKATA: What do Lord Shiva’s ubiquitous “dumbroo”, the humble lauki (gourds) or those long-forgotten wooden toys with wheels have in common? Roll over the staid fabric. These are the new-age materials for Devi Durga’s mandap this year!
Innovation is the key word for puja organisers in Kolkata, albeit with an eye on the various competitions sponsored by several corporates during the festival. But even as the race gathers momentum, the authorities seem steadfast in their single common goal - driving home a social message.
“The pressure to win an award is driving the organisers to come up with highly creative ideas. Interestingly, nowadays, the smaller, neighbourhood puja committees too are trying to compete with the biggies,” said the member of a large organising committee in south Kolkata.
On the eastern fringes of the city, puja authorities are going green, having taken control of the coconut trees lining the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. Four coconut orchards have been booked while a huge consignment will be coming in from the local Mecchua Bazar! Engravings on dried coconut shells, depicting scenes from Hindu and Jain scriptures will grace the pandal.
A puja in eastern Kolkata is wielding the dumbroo to recreate the theme of creation of the universe. Around 12,000 dumbroos are being sourced from a local manufacturer which will be coloured and mounted on the mandap. “We will recreate the various Shiva Lingas seen across India through the dumbroos as well,” says Tapan Sarkar, the man behind the concept.
At a club in south-west Kolkata, organisers have been busy the last six months drying around 12,000 gourds (lauki). Apart from the mandap, 60 “lauki” murals will depict Devi Durga in the everyday woman - the adivasi girl struggling to educate herself, the daily maid etc. A strong social relevance there.
Remember those wooden horses on wheels? Next-gen kids, hooked on to e-age games, have no time for such trivial stuff these days. A local club has ordered around 2,000 such toys from a local craftsman of Shantipur, a village in West Bengal famed for such carvings.
Another group is drumming up support for the simple joys of life through 12,000 dholaks and 8,000 terracotta violins. And this is no pipe dream. One mandap will flaunt 25,000 flutes while Durga raag will play as the Mother looks on. Is this the music of the gods?
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}