The auspicious “Saroda Utsav” – is one of the major festivals in the Eastern India and also the most dominant festival of the city of joy i.e.; Kolkata. Here every single person is immersed in the four day celebrations of Durga Puja with all the fun, glamour and devotion but very few of them actually know about the amount of time, labour and money invested in it.
Every year we see a new theme being popped-up for the Durga Puja but we do not get to see the labour behind putting up such a show. Starting from the idol making to the ‘pandals’ to the lights and the sound and the celebrity appearances, as a publicity remark, all consume a pretty good investment of time and money.
Pre-puja sales in the market actually bring in the essence of festivity with a proper follow-up of season’s greetings. All the government organisations of the state and most of the private and public sector companies reward their employees by giving them an additional pay, which mostly is their salary of two months, as a bonus or an incentive for the puja’s. The subtle change in the season from monsoon to autumn is felt in the air with the golden mornings, the chirping birds in the evenings, the soothing breeze along with the glorifying beauty of the “kaash phool”, here everything just mysteriously blends in with the mood of joy and celebration.
Very few will we meet in Kolkata who would like to believe that there is nothing really new to Durga Puja and it’s all the same every time. The sole reason behind this hype and interest of the locals is the new ‘themes’ coming up every year.
Mr. Arup Bhattacharya, one of the leading pandal makers and decorators from Chandan Nagar said, “People all over the world are fascinated about Durga Puja in Kolkata only because of the pump and show of the different pandals. A proper pandal with bare minimums costs somewhere around Rs. 80,000 approximately and can go upto Rs. 7 lacs or even higher according to the theme decided and the money invested”.
Mr. Sachin pal said, “We have to export atleast not more than 15 idols to abroad in the month of march or april which costs somewhere around Rs. 1,50,000 or higher to meet the requirements”.
Primarily the attention of the public is caught by the glamour involved which includes everyday shows in different areas, celebrity appearances and the celebrity endorsements, competitions like the best puja award, the best idol award, the best pandal award and several others which are basically conducted by big media houses like ABP Ananda, 24 Ghanta, Aaj Kaal, Times of India, etc. Somewhere lost in this glamour, we turn a blind eye towards the hard labour involved in the whole process.
“My family stays near Bagnan and I have four children. I cannot be with my family members throughout the year because I stay in Kolkata working under Mr. Pal, busy making idols not only for Durga puja but for also for the rest of the festivals since Kolkata is the land of culture and tradition”- says Shankar Das.
We as unsatiated souls should for the least takeout some time from our so-called busy lives and appreciate the hard work put in by the workers because at the end of the day ‘what to us is celebration and enjoyment, turns out to be the sole purpose for them to live’.
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