Durga Puja is over now, offices, schools, colleges are open as regular. It is a grand festival here, in Kolkata. The preparation of pandals, the theme of pujas (art of using colour & light is awesome), the art of making pandals, the shopping craze starts before 2/3months of the actual puja time. People go totally crazy this festival season. Age, religion is no bar. Tradition of Bengalis overflows in these 4 days: White saree with red border, gold jewelries, Ashtamir anjali, Sindur Khela, Dhunuchi Naach, Round adda at Para pandal, Rasogolla & mishti doi, Fulko luchi with aloo dum, exchange of clothes & gifts, Rabindra Nath Tagore-Uttam Kumar-Suchitra Sen, Kishore Kumar’s songs… all run in full form . 4 days of complete fun, rest, happiness, carefreeness, enjoyment.
There is a healthy competition among the puja committees. Prizes are being distributed for best idol, best innovative idea, best imagination, best theme maker, safety level, cleanliness, lightworks, arrangement for the comfort of visitors etc. etc. Prizes are more than the money amount and the memento: honour, recognition, publicity through media. Hence popularity, rush of visitors, and again ‘Best Puja’ Prize. Therefore all the puja committees try to be the best in all respect. They put all effort to make their puja Kolkata’s best one. They spend a lot of money to attract people, get popularity. A medium puja budget is almost 10 to 15 lacks (And it has no upper limit). Famous pujas got 20-25lacks to spend to built, arrange their puja for those 4days (plus 2 extra days ).
Yes, it is shocking that one puja cost such a big amount to spend for only 4 days or more. When I come to know this, from my office, I was shocked! 10 to 15 lacks is such a big amount! In our country (merely in Kolkata or in our locality too), there are still many people who could not manage to take proper meal for 2times a day, children who are leaving school for lack of money, poor patients dying because they does not have money to treat from the best hospital. And we are spending such a big amount for absolutely nothing? No, it’s not like nothing. It’s a big business these days, which means profit of crore rupees to some businessman but not a penny is in use for poor.
It is said that Maa Durga comes to her paternal home for this 4days. Now, question comes in my mind, is it more important (or necessary) to make Her welcome ceremony more grand or one should help poor people instead of this? I mean, we believe that the one who serves animal or human, serves the Almighty. So, if the puja committees do some social work in their own locality to help the poor, needy people wouldn’t be it helpful for society? If they take initiative to distribute scholarships, books, quilts among the poor or arrange a free health camp for them etc. instead of spending money on puja pandals, it would be better in all respect. If all puja committees start doing this in their own small areas, this would become a movement as a whole! Culture can be showcase in this manner too.
I think, making of puja pandal spending a lot of money is total waste. Puja committees must be angry with me but this idea comes to my mind & fades the festival light whenever I see a beggar outside a pandal or a kid wearing almost nothing sitting on footpath beside his sleeping mom and crying loud. Whenever I see a girl is wearing saree-sindur...she got married before 18 because of her family's economical condition is poor. Whenever I see any little Chhotu start serving at Tea shop because he must earn something to contribute in his family instead of buying books pencils copies. These are major problems in our society. But we all should try our best to help them out of problem. One cannot help all but at least one. If this can be done collectively, we might help collectively. Isn't it our moral responsibility to help the poor & needy ones as a society member? Isn't this an effort, small though, to bring change around you ? We should do whatever we can to help other though small but effective. Small droplets make an ocean.
Change is the only constant that can’t be brought easily but steadily.
