KOLKATA: For theme artists who start working on Durga Puja nearly two months before the festival, it used to be a time to sit back, chill and enjoy the adulation of crowds from Shashthi when the festival got underway. No longer so. At least three artists will be right amidst the crowd in pandals, either explaining their work or demonstrating it.
At Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club in Baguiati, artist Bhabatosh Sutar will be crafting human clay figures to join a procession that symbolises an uprising of the masses in reaction to atrocities in Manipur. "I will be sculpting people in the procession. It is as though I am supplying manpower to Durga who is represented as 'Ganadebata', the deity of the masses," said Sutar.
Performance at Durga Puja, Sutar says, is a natural progression for the festival that has evolved tremendously over the past two decades. The artist plans to perform till at least Saptami and does not mind the additional engagement at the puja pandal. Sutar had first performed live in 2007 when he had sung at 25 Pally puja where the theme was 'Manab' that had focused on the farmland versus industrialisation strife in Bengal around the time. But this time he will be performing with his craft. "What better way can there be to engage with the audience than to perform in front of them. When they see the art created before them, there is bound to be a deeper connection," he said.
Artist Susanta Paul has decided to not only perform for a few hours at Tala Prattoy but live there. The pandal has transformed into Paul's grand apartment with a four-poster bed next to the goddess, writing desk, and other wrought iron furniture."I will be living my normal life in the pandal, sleeping, working, reading, eating and carrying on with my daily existence. My theme is 'Kahan' or narration. This is my 50th creation in the 25 years of Durga Puja art and philosophy. It is a visual narrative of an eternal relationship between me and Durga. It represents the presence of the divine beyond a temple or a ritual and in our personal life and space. The deity here is my partner with whom I shall live. The pandal will be home to Durga and me," said Paul.
While he goes about living life, Dhrubojyoti Basu (Suvo) will conduct guided tours of the installation pandal thrice a day - at 6 pm, 8 pm and 12 midnight - till October 24. "We wish to help visitors understand the theme," said Basu. Artist Aditi Chakraborty who has done the theme 'Moksha' at Bakul Bagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav will be present at the pandal to explain the theme to guests and audiences. "It is a complex theme and difficult for someone else to communicate. Since we have worked so hard to present the theme, I might as well stay to explain the thoughts behind the theme," said Chakraborty.
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