KOLKATA: Two city-based Durga pujas, one in Alipore and another in Baranagar, have red light areas, prostitution and rights of sex workers as their themes and have been swarmed by large turnouts since their inauguration.
On their 68th year, Alipore 78 Pally's theme is 'chowkath' (door-frame of a brothel) which is a 360-degree artwork representing the narrow lanes and by-lanes of red-light areas in Sonagachhi. It has been created by theme-maker Anirban Das.
Here, everything is colourless including Goddess Durga. Idols of Lakshmi, Ganesh, Saraswati and Kartik are represented as children of sex-workers. The puja pandal covers more than 2500 sq ft of mural paintings on Aftab Mosque Lane, which includes several painted on 15 adjacent buildings with a projected budget of Rs 35 lakh.
"Our puja committee members and theme-makers visited Sonagachhi numerous times, held meetings with sex-workers to make exact representations of the scene," said Sourav Majumdar, secretary.
"Chief minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated our puja last Wednesday, on Tritiya, and was very excited after hearing the theme subjects", added Sourav. Sarees and garments were also distributed by the club members in the red light areas a month before the puja.
A new puja in Baranagar Nawapara Dada Bhai Sangha has designed their pandal based on the theme 'Parichoy'. Ideated by theme artist Sandip Mukherjee, it is an attempt to spread social awareness among the masses depicting the identity crisis that a sex worker and her children usually suffer. At the entrance, 100 sketches of sex workers are placed along with several life-size installations, representing the life and struggle of sex workers. A sex workers' quarter and an inside view of a dance room have turned out to be a huge attraction for pandal-hoppers. Last Monday, the puja was inaugurated in the presence of Bishaka Laskar, head of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) of Sonagachhi.
In its 10th year, Sonagachhi's puja theme is 'Lalbatir Durgapuja' at Abinash Kabiraj Street. This year, they have increased the budget to Rs 5 lakh which includes bhog distribution on the day of Nabami to all the brothels in Kolkata and cultural programmes on each day. On Friday, the near-extinct Nachni community from Purulia performed here.
"We have collectively decided to abstain from sharing our soil in making the idol for the last few years but now the situation is changing slowly. Once we were never invited or welcomed in the barowari Durga Puja, now they are making themes on us," says Laskar.