A creation of divine art, or how the phuchka meets the puja!

Ayan Saha interacting with visiting Dutch artists; behind them is the under-construction structure that will show Goddess Durga inside a phuchka.  | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A tale of how Bengal’s favourite food came together with Bengal’s favourite festival, and the story of the artist who brought them in concert

The City of Joy’s favourite street food, the phuchka - relished elsewhere in the country as gol gappa or pani puri - is to be the theme for this year’s Durga Puja at one of its most popular pandals.

Visitors to the Behala Nutan Dal - a club in the south Kolkata neighbourhood of Behala known to come up with thoughtful and fresh ideas every festive season - will this year not only have the choice of tasting the tangy water-filled crunchy balls from a vendor but also witness the idols of the goddess and her four children placed inside a giant phuchka shell.

While Durga Puja is Kolkata’s post popular festival and the phuchka its most popular street food, this is probably the first time the two are being synched — by a local artist. “The idea came to me in 2021, during Durga Puja, when I first came to this club to discuss my current assignment. I had entered the pandal from the rear gate, and that’s where I spotted a phuchka-seller. I thought, such a popular snack, something that gives you immense pleasure and satisfaction, being sold at the back gate while other dishes were on display at the front gate - not fair! That was when I decided to make this my theme,” artist Ayan Saha, responsible for this year’s pandal at Behala Nutan Dal, told The Hindu.

Mr. Saha, 31, has never been this busy. This painter-sculptor, a student of the Rabindra Bharati University, started work two months ago and now has less than 10 days to go before he gets the pandal ready. While at work, he also has an eye on the idols that are being made on the site by artisans and is also engaging with two young Dutch artists who are in Kolkata to work on a video art installation.

“Once I decided that the phuchka would be my theme, I started researching it. I found that it is mentioned in the Mahabharata — it was invented by Draupadi and was granted immortality by Lord Krishna, who was one of the first to taste it,” said Mr. Saha.

“In my opinion, the phuchka represents the feminine. It has a shell but the contents are soft. To me, it represents the goddess. Phuchka is one of the few things that brings instant contentment to our soul. What’s more, it is something that’s relished by people of all classes, castes and religions — there’s no discrimination at all!” the artist said.

The entrance to the pandal would be represented by the basket in which customers drop their leaf or paper plates once they have eaten their phuchka. The basket, he said, stands for contentment, and that it would be a good idea to meet the goddess after being content. Upon entering the pandal, visitors would also be treated to visuals telling the story of the phuchka, and finally there would be the goddess, placed inside a giant phuchka.

“The phuchka lifts our spirits. It recharges us for the next day,” said Mr. Saha.