Kolkata: A freak accident may have forced Govinda to cancel his plans to inaugurate a community puja off Prince Anwar Shah Road but a host of celebrities, including Jonty Rhodes, Brian Lara, Manu Bhaker and Mary Kom have already arrived or are scheduled to visit the city over the next few days.
Govinda was the primary attraction at the Santipally Puja Samity opposite Navina cinema hall. He was scheduled to inaugurate the pandal on Wednesday along with South African former cricketer Jonty Rhodes and actors Bhagyashree, Dev, Riya and Raima Sen.
Posters had adorned the neighbourhood before Govinda was accidentally hit by a bullet while reportedly cleaning his licenced revolver at his home. He has since been in hospital in Mumbai.
“Govinda and Bhagyashree were scheduled to take the same flight before he met with the accident. But we still had a great show, courtesy legendary cricketer Jonty Rhodes and the star presence of Dev, Raima Sen and Riya Sen,” said Bidyut Sardar, a senior coordinator of the puja committee. Sardar said former West Indies captain Brian Lara is also slated to be at the pandal on Oct 7.
Attending the event, Rhodes said: “This was my first visit to Kolkata during Durga Puja and I am elated with the reception. The city looks totally different and that is what I love the most about India — its rich cultural tradition.”
Manu Bhaker, who became the first Indian woman to win two medals (bronze) in a single Olympics edition this year, will be at the Sreebhumi Sporting Durga puja in Lake Town this Saturday. “We plan to give a grand felicitation to Bhaker for her great achievement of winning two Olympic medals,” said Sujit Bose, state fire minister and the chief patron of the puja.
Another legendary Olympian, boxer Mary Kom — India’s only amateur athlete to be awarded Padma Bhushan — will also be in the city to inaugurate the Durga Puja organised by Salt Lake IB Block committee on Friday. The organisers had initially tried to bring in Manu Bhaker but could not get a date due to her busy schedule.
“Though we have always given stress on the idol and lighting decoration, footfall had dipped at our pandal over the last two years. Hence, we are trying to change the trend with the help of our local councillor and support of sponsors,” Salt Lake IB Block puja coordinator Sudipto Mukherjee. Actor and MP Dev will also attend the event alongside Kom.
According to sources, cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and actor Kartik Aryan were supposed to attend different puja inaugurations but the plans got shelved due to budget constraint.