Kolkata: Workshop, 50-mark viva voce for priests to make them puja-ready

KOLKATA: Priests from across the city and suburbs will participate in a training camp-cum-workshop at the iconic Sovabazar Rajbari to learn different aspects of the rituals followed by a viva voce carrying 50 marks. The camp has been planned in the wake of rising demand for senior priests and their deputies after two years of the pandemic.
Around 200 priests will attend the training camp from 2pm to 5pm between August 27 and September 4 where they will be sensitised about several aspects of rituals to be performed during the festival and other guidelines they must follow inside the puja mandap. The organisers have even arranged for a nutritionist to prescribe a balanced diet for the priests.
Demand for priests and those who assist them has witnessed a rise after two years of Covid lull when the rituals were curtailed. But this year several priests have already been booked by the Durga Puja organisers and those organising other festivals like Ganesh Puja, Lakshmi Puja and Kali Puja.
"At the workshop we will be focussing on the rituals that are performed during the festival," said Jayanta Kushary of Sarba Bharatiya Prachya Vidya Academy.
"The main emphasis will be on the right way to perform the Puja and other rituals associated with it. For example, the priest and those assisting him might change into a fair pair of clothes. During the rituals and puja, they are not supposed to eat or drink," said Kushary.
"Timings for different rituals and pujas vary and many times the priests have to either fast or eat at odd timings. To ensure that it does not tell upon their health, we will rope in a nutritionist who will prescribe a proper vegetarian diet so that they don't face any health issues during the festival," said Kushary.
Most puja organisers have increased the scale of arrangements to the pre-pandemic level. "Most of the priests in the city have already been booked by various organisers of different pujas," said a priest in south Kolkata.