Changes that creep upon us:

(2018)

 

 

 

Since I was forced to spend pujas in Calcutta after very many years, the incremental changes happening all around pounced together catching me completely unawares. 

 

Let us begin with the clock. It is in July, immediately after Rathayatra, that there is an unfamiliar happening called ‘khnuti pujo’. This marks open season for partial blocking of roads with skeletal bamboo scaffoldings of future pandals. Hoardings and banners across the city all turn pujo-centric a quarter of a year before the actual event. 

 

This heralds the pujo spirit which manifests itself primarily in the markets. A deluge of heavy discounts brings in the shoppers and it is no longer about ‘Pujoy chai notun juto’. It is more about i-phones and tablets, fridges and even cars. Ever swelling waves of people happily brave congested roads, suffocating weather and collapsing infrastructure to get into the shopping malls and the jewelry stores. Suburban shoppers chasing their dreams arrive by the SUV-full to add to the bedlam. I noted with interest that jumping on the bandwagon are Amazon, flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and many such others, which form the bulk of the TV commercials during the season.  

 

Moving closer to D-day, temporary banners and hoardings on bamboo scaffolding line all thoroughfares turning roads into monoxide filled ravines. Flamboyant gateways vying to outflank all others in height and in grandeur add to traffic snarls and frayed tempers. But the related sponsorships bring blessed relief to the householder for pujos are no longer financed by the lowly door to door collection of  ‘chnada’.

 

Once the Devi-paksha is upon us, any plans of eating out should be carefully tempered with discretion, as this is not an activity for the chicken-hearted. Restaurants for all pockets are filled to capacity with intrepid hopefuls forming a buffer zone outside. Furthermore, around the real biggies, local residents take the trouble to plan their activities based upon the ETA of the Devi and her entourage, for this could knock off the better part of the day even on essential connector routes. This brings us to the subject of the ‘grand opening’ which is the next compulsory part of the event. Some celebrity is brought in to do the honours, either from filmdom or from the political arena - inevitably pulling in huge crowds  – a veritable nightmare for those in charge of security.

 

The real surprise element was the pujo itself. Banks closed for three days and Newspaper houses for four. In order to access any news, one had to venture further afield than local TV channels in which the theme of the week was the puja in all its aspects. The décor of the pandals, the artistry of the idols, the awards won, were covered in relentless detail making pandal hopping quite redundant.  Many a slender youngster gloried in individual photo ops sponsored by makers of outfits or jewelry. The not so shapely also had a field day airing puja related views.  Clearly the interactive role of the Puja-special TV has far surpassed lowly enterprises such as thakur dektey jaoa. 

 

 

On the actual days of the pujas, the roads were bereft of vehicular traffic. Buses were conspicuous by their absence, Traffic lights worked all night through as did taxis and restaurants. Certain sections of society hunkered down in gated communities giving the barowari  puja a wide berth. This brought the spotlight on the demographic change. Scrawny and dark skinned under thirties, sporting punk hairdos and loud clothes, along with their equally flamboyant and youthful female counterparts, crisscrossed the roads bunched three and even four to a two-wheeler, clearly enjoying the mastery over the territory and announcing the shape of things to come.