Asim Bando's KOLKATA BLOG

According to myth, the gods prayed for Sun, Shiva and Durga to destroy the demons who occupied the heaven. The theme-maker Somnath Mukhopadhyay is creating the place where the gods were prayed. And the images of Sun, Shiva and Durga would also be there. So, the theme is 'shaktirupen sansthita'. This puja pandal is near Ramlal Baazar, Kasba. -- A. B.

Do you remember the poem 'Palkir Gaan' by Satyendranath Dutta? Salil Chowdhury once composed the poem and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay sung the song by his unparallel voice. The organisers of this year's Kasba Shakti Sangha Durga Puja trying to bring back those forgotten days when a Palki was the only vehicle of rural Bengal. Moreover, they're trying to bring back the forgotten culture and crafts of rural Bengal. They're trying to establish the total picture as depicted in the poem. So, 12 huts are creating including the main pandal. Kamarshala, Goalghar, Paathshala, groceries - all the units of a village would be created here. Hence, you can find a village as it was 200 years ago. Even birds, banyan trees, animals, paddy fields - all the aspects of a rural village will be there in their puja pandal. You can find a pond there in which, lotus plants has been planted to get lotuses. Various types of fishes would be there and also a small bridge on the pond. The...