In Kolkata, ‘Durga Puja is coming’ excitement is drenched in anger, sorrow

Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: Debasish Bhaduri

In Kolkata, if there is an emotion stronger than Durga Puja, it is the countdown — the spirit of ‘pujo aschhe’, or ‘puja is coming’ — something that grips the city as soon as September begins. While the festival is more about crowds than celebrations, the preceding weeks bring real joy.

This year, though, the joy is missing. How much the public anger against the rape-murder of a doctor on duty at R.G. Kar Hospital is going to impact Durga Puja remains to be seen, but it appears to have affected the ‘puja is coming’ spirit. Most Kolkatans, from office-goers to puja committee members to idol makers, agree that the effervescence is missing this year.

“Earlier, on the way back from work, I would see metro stations packed with people returning home after puja shopping, now I am not seeing that. Things may eventually pick up, but right now the pujo aschhe-pujo aschhe enthusiasm is missing. Kolkata has obviously taken the R.G. Kar Hospital episode very seriously,” said Saubhik Mukhopadhyay, who works with the finance department of an MNC.

Idol-maker Indrajit Pal said that this year he is yet to find the crowds of onlookers that usually descend on the narrow lanes of Kumartuli to watch artisans give the final touches to Durga idols.

“Tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi, so some customers have been coming to pick up Ganesha idols; other than that, I don’t see too many people, which is not usually the case at this time of the year,” Mr. Pal said.

Idol makers will take out a protest march on Sunday against the R.G. Kar Hospital incident; it is rare for the artisans to come out as a community. Durga Puja is already around the corner — the auspicious dates start October 9 but pandal-hopping begins earlier — and idols are nearly ready, or else many artisans and even pandal-designers are likely to have chosen the horrifying incident as their theme. Some still might.

“Individually, we are all going to protest meets and marches, but as far as our neighbourhood puja is concerned, preparations began in July and the pandal is nearly ready. Whether we will still do anything symbolic to register our protest, we are yet to decide, but we will certainly have a discussion on this matter. At the moment, there is sadness, there is lack of enthusiasm,” said Anirban Ghoshal, spokesperson of Hazra Udayan Sangha, a club that was formed in 1946 to hold Durga Puja as a statement against the Great Calcutta Killings that year.

Private tutor Subhasree Das said that she was not excited about Durga Puja this year; not just her, but even her students were far from cheerful. “I see no joy in the younger generation, even Class 9 and 10 students; they are all scared and talking about the incident, not just girls but also boys. Everybody is waiting for justice,” Ms. Das said.

Maitrayee Paul, a government servant, said she was overcome by guilt when she went to a mall last weekend to make a purchase. “I instantly thought about the bereaved family. If things were fine, they would’ve been in a festive mood like every other Bengali family. My heart sinks whenever I think of the brutality faced by the martyr — yes, martyr is the right epithet for the doctor who lost her life to a corrupted system. I cannot see myself enjoying this puja.”