EC borrows from Satyajit Ray to draw Kolkata voters

KOLKATA: The Election Commission, frustrated by low turnouts in the Kolkata Uttar Lok Sabha constituency — from where the modern metropolis originated — has decided to pull a solution out of its hat that the quintessential Bengali may not be able to ignore: a throwback to Satyajit Ray.

It will shoot 12 documentaries and call them ‘Ek Dojon Goppo’ — after Ray’s celebrated collection of 12 short stories — and show them around the streets of North Kolkata. It hopes that will be enough to prod voters into doing better than the 66% turnout they recorded in the 2014 LS polls.

The low 2014 turnout meant Kolkata North recorded the worst voting percentage in Bengal, well below the state average of 82.2%.

Ray, the man behind masterpieces like ‘Pather Panchali’ and ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’, was a product of both North and South Kolkata. He was born in the Garpar neighbourhood in the heart of the north and went to Presidency College, part of the present Kolkata North LS seat. But most of his early years were spent in South Kolkata, including his schooling.

“Our idea was inspired by Ray’s ‘Ek Dojon Goppo’,” North Kolkata district electoral officer Dibyendu Sarkar said. “People in Bengal love story-telling and we feel reaching out to people through stories of everyday life will be effective. The documentaries will be in short-story format where the protagonist will explain the importance of voting,” he said.

A 10-member team from a popular theatre troupe and another team of cameramen and technicians have started shooting at different locations in the city. Kolkata North votes on May 19.