Crowds missing but Kolkata greets ‘Ma Durga’ as caregiver and migrant mother...

Most devotees of Durga this year are forced to watch her on TV, on mobile and their laptops. With the pandemic raging and Calcutta High Court banning the entry of more than 45 people at a time and not more than 25 of the organisers, most of the community pujas in the city wear a deserted look unlike previous years when millions would form orderly or disorderly queues, jostle with each other and and happily spend from early evening to early morning what is known as ‘pandal hopping’.

But the bigger and better organized Puja Committees have arranged for live streaming and web telecast. Some are making use of Facebook Live to showcase the imagination and skill of their teams of idol makers, decorators, electricians and others.

Theme based Pujo and idols on contemporary subjects have been a long tradition of the festival in the city. This year too has seen one Durga idol in the form of Kamala Harris, the US VicePresidential candidate, slaying the demon in the form of the US President. The reaction of the US Consulate is not known.

Another Durga idol has been dressed like a doctor, complete with a white coat and her trident taking the shape of a syringe which she uses to slay the coronavirus, named Coronasur in place of the more conventional demon Mahishasur named after the buffalo. Durga’s children have been dressed as other front-line care givers.

The idol shaped after a migrant mother with children has of course gone viral on social media. At least one other community puja has put up sculptures of migants on the road as an added attraction.

One of the pandals in Salt Lake City on the outskirts of Calcutta is decorated in a Jungle Book-like setting. In another part of Salt Lake, AE Block, the theme is how the lockdown has brought people together. At Rajarhat New Town, the pandal is a ‘spectacular’ Ram temple.

Safety is of prime concern and hence several pandals have arranged for fogging machines and sanitisers are available at the entrance. People in queues are being asked to stand apart. Priests and their helpers have been quarantined before the puja in many places. Masks are on stand by for those who turn up without one. Volunteers are eagle eyed because safety this year is the primary consideration for prizes, a high point of the festival. Judges would generally make surprise visits and at drop in unannounced, mingling with the crowd. That may not quite be possible this year.

Durga Puja this year is subdued and the usual bustle is missing. It will affect not just the rhythm of life but also livelihood of millions on the margin.