Bombay Durga Bari Samiti’s Puja stays digital this year too | Mumbai News – Times of India

With Mahalaya marking the beginning of DeviPaksha, on October 6, Durga Puja is almost upon us. This year, the five-day puja festivities will begin from October 11 and culminate on Vijaya Dashami, Dussehra on October 15. And with the pandemic into its second year, the celebrations are majorly impacted once more, this year.
Considered to be among the oldest Durga Pujas of Mumbai, the Bombay Durga Bari Samiti, dates back to 1930 and is less than a decade away from being a hundred years old. Susmita Mitra, President of the Bombay Durga Bari Samiti tells us, “While the pandemic has derailed the best laid plans, what has blessedly remained unchanged is the spirit, enthusiasm and dedication with which our members consistently work at making the Samiti a premier, non-sectarian, cultural and charitable organization in Mumbai. Like every year, we will continue to promote the culture and ethos of Bengal and bring it to the people of Mumbai, while retaining its traditional ‘ghoroa’ (homely) nature. This year, like last year it will be a ‘ghoroa Pujo’ in the truest sense of the term- devotees will get to enjoy Pujo from the comfort and safety of their homes.”

A unique 3-D idol conceptualised this year

Keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic that we find ourselves in the middle of, the Protima Committee (idol committee) of the Puja Samiti, has been creative whilst keeping government guidelines in mind. Paromita and Dola Banerjee, Joint Convenors of the protima committee explains, “A three-dimensional mural has been conceptualised. It’s made of clay and hay by an artisan from the interiors of Kolkata. The mural will be adorned with traditional ‘Shola pith’, an eco-friendly and –bio-degradable material. Everything from Maa Durga’s saree to her head gear will be created from this. The same theme will be maintained with rest of the deities, Maa Durga’s children including Maa Saraswati, Maa Lokhi, Karthik, and Ganesh. The colour of the mural is that of clay. The overall look is a pristine white Shola pith color with intricate work on the saree and headgear.”

This year ceremonial ‘ghot puja’ instead of ‘murti puja’

The samiti has always been celebrating Durga Puja in an environmentally friendly way and hopes to continue doing so in the years to come. “Durga Puja is the celebration of the victory of good over evil and one of the greatest challenges that we face today is the ongoing pandemic and the threat to our world is now greater than ever,” says Mitali Poddar, Chairperson of the Bombay Durga Bari Samiti. She adds, “Keeping the safety of our devotees in mind, we have with heavy hearts decided to do away with our traditional celebrations and honour Maa Durga with a ‘ghot pujo’ which we will digitally broadcast on various social media platforms.”

Supporting rural artisans

This year the Samiti has reached out to organisations such as Artisan Soul and Haath Ka Bana and brought them on board for their wildly popular Anandomela (the first get together in Durga Puja). This year Anandomela is being celebrated for a month thereby giving these artisans a month-long platform to reach a wider audience.

Online cultural programs

The Samiti has put together programs this year too and they will be aired online on their social media channels. Mitali Poddar, Chairperson of Bombay Durga Bari Samiti tells us, “As an organization, the Samiti has always believed in promoting performing arts and artists from diverse backgrounds. The programmes organised by the Samiti continue to reflect the cultural ethos of India. This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, our programmes will be no attendance programmes and will be digitally live streamed to our viewers.” There will be a sitar recital by a budding child artist Adhiraj Choudhary. He is the grandson of sitar maestro Padamshree and Padmabhushan Pt Debu Chaudhuri and son of Pt Prateek Chaudhuri, a renowned sitar player. In an unfortunate twist of fate, Adhiraj lost both his grandfather and father to Covid earlier this year.
There will be a musical evening by Kolkatar Gaanwala, a rising band from the cultural capital of the country. This group of musicians believe that even with a contemporary musical outlook, going back to our roots and digging out gems is the key to building a unique soundscape of their own.
Another highlight would be the Talkshow on Satyajit Ray. 2021 marks a hundred years of the iconic Satyajit Ray and the samiti will host a talk show with his son Sandip Ray. This talk show is specially curated for Bombay Durga Bari Samiti.

Guidelines are being followed…

The Maharashtra state government has issued restrictions on the same lines for Durga Puja as imposed for Ganesh Chaturthi last month. The BMC has capped the height of the Durga Maa idol to four-feet. According to the guidelines, 10 people will be allowed at the pandals during the public aarti and social distancing has to be followed strictly. The noise pollution should be restricted to a bare minimum. Since Durga Pratima or idols are traditionally only made with clay, it always remains eco-friendly. Post Durga Puja, on Vijaya Dashami day, only five people would be allowed for the immersion journey of the idol.