The “LOJJA” themed pandal at the Saraswati Kalimata Mandir Parishad club in Kolkata’s Narkeldanga is a prime example of how Durga Puja is different this year.
The centerpiece of the pandali is an image of Maa Durga covered with shame, next to a statue of a woman with a doctor’s coat and a stethoscope.
“Even the mighty lion we showed him in a different avatar. Here the lion has his head down in shame. We have used red color to show blood and bloodshed in Bengal,” said Biswajit Sarkar, editor of “Lojja”, which means shame.
Sarkar says he chose to use the pandal to highlight the “shame and anger” surrounding the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August this year.
His brother, Abhijit Sarkar, a BJP worker who died in post-poll violence last year, founded the club in 2020. Since then, Biswajit has taken over.
In the pandal, a pot with a Rs 500 note attached is meant to criticize the “Lokkhi Bhandar practice” (TMC’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme) – which provides financial assistance to women in the state.
The pandal also has an “original form” idol of Maa Durga that will be worshiped for four days.
Meanwhile, the RG Kar incident and the protests are a small part of the Santosh Mitra Square Durga Puja committee’s theme this year, in the form of a light show, said Sajal Ghosh, a BJP councilor and one of the puja organizers.
The theme of this year’s pandal is inspired by the iconic “Sphere of Las Vegas,” a popular music and entertainment venue in Nevada. Located along College Street, Santosh Mitra Square’s pandals in the past have explored themes from Ram Mandir in Ayodhya to “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
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