Some pujas bring in slices of history to woo revellers
Times of India | 26 September 2024
12 Kolkata: From the Indigo-revolt to the history of ‘Koh-i-Noor’ diamond, from fresco paintings to the artworks of Ajanta, Elephanta, Bagh and Ellora caves, some Durga Pujas will have a slice of history as a part of their themes this year.
Dum Dum Tarun Dal has ‘White-Indigo’ as their theme for this year’s Durga Puja, which brings alive the Indigo rebellion of 1859.This movement was led by Indigo farmers against British rulers who forced Bengal farmers to cultivate indigo by providing loans at exorbitant interest rates, known as ‘Dadon’. Despite taking loans, farmers were unable to make any profit and faced brutal attacks from the British rulers. An act granted planters a free hand in dealing with farmers, which sparked the Indigo-revolt. This slice of history will be portrayed through artwork combined with ‘live’ Maslin weaving at the pandal. Biswajit Pradhan, secretary of the puja committee, said, “We have planted a few indigo plants and hired eight people from Kalna for the ‘live’ weaving of Maslin at the puja pandal.”
Beliaghata 33 Palli’s theme, ‘Kohinoor: A Journey into the Past,’ explores the eight-century journey of the Kohinoor diamond, which witnessed numerous tales of bloodshed, assassinations, wars, and looting. A single piece of diamond crossed borders, empires, and religions, with its proprietors changing multiple times. Artist Samrat Bhattacharjee said, “It haunted me how a single diamond could have such a rich history. I started conceptualizing the theme from our colonial history with reference to Queen Victoria and others. It is said the diamond was stolen by Sultan Alauddin Khilji from the third eye of a Hindu goddess’s idol at Kakatiya temple.” The idol will resemble the form of the Devi at Kakatiya Temple and is being prepared with synthetic ivory.
Santoshpur Lake Pally’s theme, ‘Chalchitra,’ is based on fresco painting inside caves at Ajanta in Maharashtra, Bagh in Madhya Pradesh and Elephanta in Maharashtra. Fresco painting’s influence on Indian art and painting, and how these artworks inspired Indian heritage art and culture, will be traced. Spokesperson Somnath Das said, “We are the first in city to work on fresco. All the artwork in the pandal is influenced by fresco paintings. Visitors will get to see paintings by Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Basu and others. There will also be an art museum to display the paintings.”