North Kolkata theatre para puja relives glory days a year after weaving ‘Abol Tabol’ magic
Times of India | 30 September 2024
Kolkata: A puja pandal that had metamorphosed a north Kolkata neighbourhood into the nonsensical and absurd world of ‘Abol Tabol’ to celebrate the centenary of Sukumar Ray's literary classic is this year transforming the locality into a neighbouring jatra para that is lost to the vestiges of time.
Nabin Pally Durga Puja on Nalin Sarkar Street in Hatibagan area is located barely 100 metre from Raja Rajkrishna Street that till the turn of the century housed some of the most popular theatres — Star, Rang Mahal, Biswarupa, Sarcarina, Bijon and Rangana.
Now, only Star theatre survives but it does not stage plays. Two other theatres, Sarcarina and Rangana, are in decrepit condition. Yet, in the 1980s, the theatres were so popular that they drew huge crowds and police had to be deployed.
“This is the 150th year of professional theatre in Kolkata. Nil Darpan was staged on Dec 7, 1872, with people buying tickets to watch it. Prior to that, plays were enacted in aristocratic homes. But since 2008, the theatres have fallen silent. No plays have been staged since. Sarcarina, which boasted Asia's first 360° revolving stage with a platform that moved up and down as well, is in a shambles. Bijon theatre where Soumitra Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh and Anup Kumar had acted has been redeveloped into a multistoried building. Rang Mahal is now a shopping mall while Biswarupa is a multistoried building with a bust of Sisir Bhaduri to remind one of address' storied heritage,” recounted committee member Dipta Ghosh.
Two pandals have meticulously recreated Sarcarina and Rangana, including its facade and the booking counters. The idol has been placed in Sarcarina’s ‘revolving stage’. The locality has been draped with posters of popular theatres that were staged. Women from the locality will also do a skit that will present biographies of Noti Binodini, Tripti Mitra, Miss Shefali and other stars of the theatre world.
The puja will also pay a tribute to Tapas Sen, the stage lighting designer who wove magic with illumination in plays. This is the centenary year of Sen.
The team at Nabin Palli, which has in the past used Truck art from Pakistan and Kawad art from Rajasthan to weave magic at their pandal, has been researching on the subject for a year and hopes the theme will inspire Kolkata to resurrect at least one theatre and build an archive. “A decade from now, no one will know that a vibrant theatre para used to exist next door,” said Amitava Ray, another committee member.
If you are wondering what happened to the ‘Abol Tabol’ para, well it is still there and will reappear when the jatra para montage is dismantled after Puja.