As you enter through a gate that is being given finishing touches, you are greeted by an imposing 40 feet-high statue of a tribal woman with a bow and arrow. It symbolises women empowerment – the theme of the Arambagh Durga Puja this year. In fact, many popular Durga Puja committees in Delhi are vying with each other for unique theme-based pandals .
“We pray to the goddess, but look how we treat women at our homes and in the city. That is why we have chosen our theme – Dugga Amar – to celebrate the power of women with real life Durgas,” said Abhijit Bose, executive chairman of the Puja Samiti.
The organisers have invited widows from Vrindavan, victims of rape and acid attacks and sex workers from West Bengal to inaugurate the puja, which they say will be eco-friendly.
The fibre-glass sculpture at the entrance is that of an adivasi (tribal)woman symbolising Durga. It is inspired by the tribal art form of Dokra. Mr. Bose said that the Puja celebration at Arambagh this year is a silent protest against all forms of violence against women. “This is our way of putting the message across,” he said.
The main pandal will have specially-designed installations and portraits of icons such as astronaut Kalpana Chawla, boxer Mary Kom, Mother Teresa, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and Bhanwari Devi, among others.
The Mela Ground at Chittaranjan Park, which sees the largest crowd during the celebrations, looks to recreate ancient rural Bengal. The pandal here is being decorated in traditional rural art using bamboo sheets, jute sheets and hand-made bamboo stick lamp shades.
The idols at this Durga Puja have been sculpted with mud and clay with the ornaments and clothes being of ‘ solar saaj ’ (decoration with thermocol ornaments). “Special artists from Bengal have been hired to give our idol a touch of antiquity. Craftsmen had arrived months before in Delhi to scult the idol and design the pandal ,” said an office bearer of the Puja Samiti.
“Apart from the decoration, there would also be a touch of antiquity in our cultural performances with eminent baul (folk) singers being invited to sing, apart from other known artistes from Kolkata,” he said.
The Matri Mandir Durga Puja in Safdarjung Enclave is also known for its theme-based pandals, as much as for its food stalls. This year, the Puja Samiti has planned a tribal theme for its pandal .
“You would be able to witness the ancient adivasi way of life through the sculptures being put up at the pandal ,” said an office bearer of the Samiti.
The Milani Durga Puja Committee of Mayur Vihar Phase-I is going to recreate the ‘ Nabakalebar’ ceremony of Jagannath Puri through its pandal this year.
“This ceremony was held in Orissa this year and we are going to recreate that through our pandal and other art installations and decorations,” said Tapan Roy, a member of the Milani Culture and Welfare Association.
