Kolkata: An umbrella organization of theme artists, whose creations have transformed the traditional Durga Puja into a festival of art and craft over the past three-and-a-half decades and played a major role in it being inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, has written to chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, seeking clarity on the govt’s guidelines for pandals and the festival.
Theme artist Gouranga Kuila, who is also the vice-president of Ek Matrik, the forum for Durga Puja theme artists, said the govt needed to spell out guidelines on two primary factors: pujas held on roads and in parks, and duration of the festival, more specifically, the earliest inauguration date, so that they could accordingly start work on pandals. The festival is around four months away.
Though the construction of pandals usually begins in earnest from the day of Rath or Ulta Rath—Rath is on July 16 and Ulta Rath July 24—artists want the govt to issue the guidelines early so that they can make necessary changes to the pandal draft design. “For parks, artists need to know from when pandal constructions can start and by when they have to be completely dismantled. Puja committees also need to repair and restore the ground so that residents, particularly children who are denied the play area, can get back an even surface once Durga Puja ends,” said Kuila.
Fellow theme artist Bhabatash Sutar says the govt’s take on pandals, which are usually set up on roads, is extremely important for planning and execution. “The Calcutta High Court issued guidelines on how much of road space could be occupied. But there are instances of organisers with ‘powerful connections’ flouting the norms. That should stop. If the govt endorses the HC order or issues norms that are more stringent, it should be made clear so that artists can plan accordingly,” said Sutar.
Theme artists are also keen to know about the govt’s thoughts on the duration of the festival. This is crucial for them to pace their projects. Many theme artists have had to complete pandals with high footfall a week ahead of Mahalaya for the preview show. Also, some pujas used to get inaugurated even before Mahalaya.
Theme artist Anirban Das says getting pandals ready a week before Mahalaya put enormous pressure on timelines. “It will be good if pandals are inaugurated after Mahalaya and the festivity gets over on Dashami, instead of the earlier practice of four-five days later, until Carnival. That becomes an additional financial burden on organizers,” he said.
Most artists as well as puja organisers are certain that the Red Road Carnival introduced in 2016 will be done away with as well as the practice of inaugurating high-footfall pandals on Mahalaya or the eve of Mahalaya.
