Getting set for Durga Puja

Photographs by Sanket Wankhade

For Keshto Pal, making idols during Durga Puja has been a family profession that he has been engaged in since 35 years. But, celebrating this auspicious time without his family is something that he is used to. “My father was always away from me and now I’m away from my family. I send them money to buy new clothes but I don’t have the time to buy anything for myself or go anywhere to see the celebrations. This isn’t new for me and I’m used to it,” he explains.

Less than a month after the city bid adieu to Ganapati, it now prepares for Durga Puja starting on Wednesday with Mahasashti. Pune is home to several mandals that become a temporary abode for the goddesses. This time of the year is especially important for the Bengali community as they celebrate Durga Puja is with pomp and gaiety.

Sukrangun Paul has been coming to Pune from Kolkata since the past 35 years especially to make the idols of Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Ganapati and Kartikeya. He has been in Pune since four months along with his son Tapas Paul and 10 other workers who have also come from Kolkata. “Everyone in my family is into the business of making murtis. We came to Pune in July and we make the idols as per the orders we get,” he explains. The artisans do not make it back in time to celebrate Durga Puja with their family as they continue working till Diwali. “My family celebrates the festival without me. I feel very bad. There is no time though as we are working the entire year,” expresses Paul.

One of the main attractions during the festival is the idol of Durga that stands tall and is decorated with embroidered cloth and jewellery. The idol is painted in such a way to make the facial features more prominent. Speaking about the strenuous process of making an idol, that starts early in the morning and goes on till late at night, Paul adds that it is the frame of the idol that is made first with bamboo and later on it is shaped with layers of hay. “After the idol is covered with hay, we start adding earthen mud to it. Generally in Kolkata, all the idols are made from the soil of the Ganges but in Pune we only do the finishing of the idols with it. We hire trucks to bring soil from the Ganges in Kolkata to Pune. All the parts are sculpted separately. The head, hands and body is made separately and then joined using the mud.”

The first soil that is used is taken from a brothel and is mixed with the soil from the Ganges. According to Lali Saha, a teacher at The Bishop’s Co-ed School in Undri, there is an interesting reason behind this, “We consider Durga as the mother who has all the powers. Society looks down upon women who are sex workers. During Durga Puja, the soil is taken from a brothel because it is believed that whether a woman lives in a palace or a brothel, she must be respected. Such women should not be looked down upon in society.”

Durga Puja in Pune is celebrated with grandeur at places like Congress Bhavan, Kali Bari Samitiin Khadki, SalunkheVihar and Rohi Villa Palace in Koregaon Park.

Vijayta Lalwani