A Sunderbans 'connection' joins Durga Pujas in Kolkata and Netherlands

Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest cover, has joined two Durga pujas in Kolkata and the Dutch city of Almere, nearly 6,500 km apart.

While a puja committee has created a mini Sundarbans in Kolkata’s Salt Lake to create awareness about the importance of mangrove cover and preservation of environment, various products made by the women of the forest area have been procured by the puja organisers in Almere for display in their pandal.

“Our theme is a bit of Sundarbans in Kolkata. The fragile ecosystem there must be preserved. Lots of tourists go there from Kolkata and they often spoil the environment, litter the place with plastic and thermocol, disturb animals by playing loud music,” Salt Lake’s CE Block Puja Committee president Debashis Sen said.

To a visitor, the marquee, being built by the people of Sundarbans, will give the impression as if the puja is being held inside a forest. Original mangrove trees were planted on both sides of the path leading to the pandal. Some big trees will also be planted around it to give it the look of a jungle.

“Mangrove cover in Sundarbans is needed. The future of Kolkata and our posterity is uncertain as the city is facing the risk of getting drowned under water in next 10 years as per a UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) report,” a member of CE Block Welfare Association said.

Only bio-degradable items are being used to set up the pandal and for decoration. The ‘patachitra’ art (traditional painting on earthen pots) of the Sunderbans will be showcased, while a folk play - ‘Bonbibi pala’ - will also be staged, puja committee secretary Rajdeep Dutta said.

Bonbibi (Lady of the forest), the guardian spirit of the Sundarbans, is venerated by both Hindus and Muslims there.

The puja committe has partnered with the forest and tourism departments to create awareness about preservation of environment.

An installation of Bonbibi and several other decorative items including a boat and fishing nets are being brought to the Salt Lake pandal by the organisers in association with the Kolkata Society for Cultural Heritage (KSCH), an NGO.

With the help of the same NGO, Sundarbans has become the theme of a puja at Almere, around 30 km from Amsterdam.

“We will display the patachitra of the Sunderbans. In addition, we have also procured various products made by the women of Sunderbans from e-waste. They have made birds, turtles and other show pieces from e-waste,” Satarupa Bose Roy, one of the organisers of the puja at Almere, said.

The city has been set up on land reclaimed from the sea around 50 years ago.

“Another Durga puja is held in the city and ours is the second one starting this year. It will be different. It will be held on the days stipulated by the calendar, and not on weekends as mostly happen in western countries,” Bose Roy told PTI from Almere.

Hein van der Loo, the Mayor of Almere, is scheduled to inaugurate the Durga Puja and Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Reenat Sandhu, is also likely to be present, she said.

“We have hired a woman purohit to conduct the rituals. We seek to showcase the essence of the puja as it is held back home in Kolkata as our next generation has hardly any idea about it. To them, the puja is all about wearing new dresses, having prasad and watching and participating in cultural programmes,” Bose Roy said.

Besides the common theme of Sundarbans, this puja in Amlere city is twinning with the one in Salt Lake’s CE block. Both pujas will be beamed to each other and a knowledge exchange session will be organised virtually during the puja.

KSCH founder member Sourav Mukherjee said, “We are reviving the long-lost patachitra art of Sundarbans and helping the women there in selling their products made from e-waste.” Interestingly, two artists from Netherlands are also involved with another puja committee in the southern fringes of Kolkata. They have teamed up with a local craftsman to give shape to this year’s theme.