In Kolkata, poetry and art from Gaza and Bengal famine converge in Durga Puja pandal

Among the theme-based Durga Pujas creating ripples among pandal hoppers and creation lovers successful Kolkata this twelvemonth is Behala Friends Durga Puja, which highlighted the ongoing humanitarian situation astatine Gaza arsenic their taxable this year, and juxtaposed it to the wide starvation and decease witnessed successful the Bengal famine of 1943.

“While we person not seen the Bengal famine ourselves, we person travel crossed horrifying accounts done oral recollections of our elders, and done writings from that era. When I embarked connected this project, I realised that the man-made famine which was inflicted by assemblage powers successful Bengal is present being witnessed by the satellite successful the Gaza genocide” creator Pradip Das told The Hindu.

Mr. Das, an alumni of the Government College of Art and Craft and Rabindra Bharati University, was the superior creator who conceived of and designed the theme, pandal and idol astatine Behala Friends Durga Puja this year. 

The taxable of the puja has been titled ‘Nabanna’ aft the rubric of a 1944 play by playwright Bijan Bhattacharya connected the Bengal famine. 

Mr. Das said that portion moving connected the project, helium had reached retired to lensman Seamus Murphy who had worked successful West Asia, and Raeda Ghazaleh who is based successful Jerusalem.

“Raeda recited poesy by her friend, Naama Hassan, who on with his household was successful the Gaza Strip. When I work the translated poem, I recovered parallels with the stories of hunger and decease depicted successful Bengali poesy written connected the famine. There is simply a connection, adjacent though West Bengal and Gaza are 5,000 kilometres distant and the crises are 82 years apart,” Mr Das said. 

Raeda’s poesy recitation is portion of the multi-layered soundscape successful the Durga Puja pandal. With that, respective ocular elements came unneurotic to nonstop the assemblage towards the corporate imagery of the 2 space-time planes. At the entrance, visitors walk done an arch that resembles a quality rib cage. Bangla and Gazan poesy are inscribed connected the walls, on with creator depictions of bullets and guns. The walls adjacent the idol were scratched to picture scenes from the British concern of India. 

“In spot of the ten-handed signifier of the goddess, we enactment up a sculpture of a dishevelled and distressed pistillate to picture the women who carnivore the brunt of the aftermath of warfare and humanitarian crises. It is arsenic though the goddess herself is begging for food. On her side, determination are subtle representations of Durga’s sons and daughters, arsenic good arsenic her lion to support elements of Mahisasurmardini,” Mr, Das explained.

The Behala Friends Durga Puja besides received important traction crossed societal media platforms wherever reels and images of the pandal went viral. The organisers arsenic good arsenic the creator said they are overwhelmed with the affirmative effect from pandal hoppers.

Srinjoy Saha, a subordinate of the organising committee, said that the creator was fixed implicit state to research the taxable of the puja, and that they are precise pleased with however the pandal turned retired arsenic a communicative and creator experience.

“Various kinds of radical are visiting the pandal and each 1 is taking distant antithetic interpretations from it. The radical person embraced our work. I tin deliberation of creating thing similar this lone successful Kolkata,” Mr Das said.