Modern Times
Durga Puja by itself is a costly proposition and gatherings on such a scale multiply the expenditure. Splits in families, resulting in division of resources, have not helped the cause. Nabakrishna Deb’s puja at Sovabazar has had two parallel editions—one at his mansion and the other at the original thakurdalan across the road—ever since a Supreme Court ruling in 1806 divided the raja’s property to settle a dispute between his sons Gopimohan and Rajkrishna. The Saborno Roy Chowdhurys had branched out to nine pujas, of which six now continue. “Even the five other pujas suffered intermittent breaks. Only the original puja at the atchala has maintained a record of continuity,” Roy Chowdhury points out. While some houses follow a system of the family units taking turns to foot the expenses for the puja, others believe in collective contribution. Perhaps the Dawn family is among the most organised in this respect. The puja is sponsored by a trust which looks after the earnings of debuttar2 property:
The annual expenditure for the puja runs to an impressive Rs 2.5 lakh
Most of the family pujas may lack the gloss of their cash- rich community counterparts but they are unlikely to fade out. This is mainly because the enthusiasm has percolated to the younger generation. “For the past few years, our boys have even been staging cultural programmes on the occasion,” says Dipankar Hazra, of the Jaanbazar family puja. The note of approval is clear in the voice of the 56-year-old descendant of Rani Rashmoni.
Cradle of divinity
Kumortuli. Or the potters’ hub. This area in north Calcutta has remained as vital to the festival today as it was in the late eighteenth century: when image-makers from the Nadia district started settling here.
Nadia was traditionally home to the image-makers through generations. A few months before the Puja, they would come over to mould the idols at the houses of the babus and return after the festival. Gradually as the number of pujas in the city increased and more work became available, they stayed back, huddled in the same locality by the river Hooghly.
After Partition, there was a sudden spurt in the artisan population as immigrants from across the border invaded the area and set up their studios.
Not much has changed since then. The artisans’ world is tucked away in a nondescript lane off a central Calcutta thoroughfare. Pocket after pocket of dingy clay stations lines both its sides as it snakes in and branches out. The congestion has forced many of the better-known image-makers to acquire more space elsewhere. Leaking roof and water-logging create problems when the monsoon lingers. Yet Kumortuli remains the sole port of call for the majority of the puja organisers in the city and the suburbs, or even beyond the Bengal borders.
It is here that the mighty Durga blossoms into shape from a lump of clay and straw and wood in loving hands that have not known any other task. “First, she is my child. Then suddenly she becomes my mother. It makes me nervous. But she guides my fingers,” says an old artisan, 72 hoary autumns and generations of idol-making behind him.
Earlier, the puja cycle used to start on the day of Rathyatra when the kathamo would be worshipped and orders would start being placed. But now work has to start in April. “This is the age of ready-mades. Some clients come looking for spot buys. So some extra idols have to be kept finished to capture this market,” explains one of the artisans.
Kumortuli is not just about the image-makers. The goddess has to be armed, dressed and decorated before she leaves for the pandal. Many families here busy themselves with carvings from the pith of sola reed or from silver and gold foil. These are the two predominant media of decoration—the pristine white sholar saaj and the gorgeous daaker saaj. While sola reeds grow in ponds and marshy land, and are very much indigenous, the foils earlier had to be imported from Europe. They came by mail. Hence the name daaker saaj (daak - mail, saaj — dressing). The ingredients for the Devi’s decor come from various corners of the state. And the list is long—sola, foil, zari, jute, clay, straw, tin plates... Some articles come as raw materials, while others, like her sari, weapons and matted hair or the lion’s mane and skin, arrive ready for use. The hair and the mane, jute products both, incidentally, are a preserve of workers belonging to the Muslim community.
As Debipaksha starts, work here reaches frenetic pace. The cracks on the arm have to be covered with chits of paper. The first coat of paint has to be dried properly for the next coat to be applied. The crown has to be put on without disturbing the carefully pasted locks of hair. And as Sashthi approaches, hundreds of lorries line the main road, waiting in queue to carry the Mother ‘home’.
Designs on the Devi
What is the theme of the Puja? The question would have raised indignant eyebrows even in the early I 990s. The daughter’s return to her parents. Destruction of evil. Other answers were unlikely. But now there are countless options and the choice of the theme can determine the success of an organiser’s annual show. If the household pujas have prided themselves in repeating history and sticking to tradition, the community pujas, as they multiplied in number, resorted to innovative ways to draw the largest crowds.