Gods in the making

BENGALURU: The months of September and October have always been marked important in the calendars of the natives of West Bengal and the Bengalis residing in the rest of the country and the world. It largely means one thing: Pujo is arriving. In Kolkata, Durga Puja is celebrated with much pomp and dazzle. From the fifth day, Panchami, the city-wide celebrations begin, and it goes on till day 10, Dashami, and sometimes a day or two beyond that. But that’s all the way in the East of India. What’s happening in Bengaluru, a city almost 2,000 km away from Kolkata? And more importantly, where does this city get its Puja idols from?

Turns out, the garden city is not too far behind the city of joy. Partly due to the large migrated Bengali population in Bengaluru, multiple associations are gearing up for the festival and idol makers have come from West Bengal to make Durgas for everyone. “The first step is to choose the idol. Our idol maker is Tarun Pal, who has been making idols for us since 2018. He is from Kolkata and comes here during this season. He usually sets up his shop in North Bengaluru, and he has been making idols in this city for the last 50 years,” says Priyanka Roy, publicity head, Bengali Association for the Residents of Sarjapur and HSR Layout Area (BARSHA). Aside from the idol, the decoration, which include the crown and the various vessels and ornaments, are brought from Kolkata.

Tarun Pal has been making idols for various Bengaluru Durga Puja associations for the last 50 years. “It all started when my father, Sudhir Pal, had come to Bengaluru to make idols for two Puja associations, one for the Bengalee Association, the city’s oldest Bengali association, and another one for the Socio Cultural Association, Indiranagar,” says Pal, who comes to Bengaluru from Kolkata in June to start his idol-making process. “Back then, we used to go to various places to make the idols as we didn’t have a permanent place for our work. Then, folks at the Bengalee Association asked us to do our work in their hall in Ulsoor. We started making the idols there for every association we were working with. We did that for 27 years. Since 2011, we have been making our idols in Cox Town,” shares Pal, adding that when they resume their work in June, they also make idols for other festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Kali Puja.

The Puja organised by Bongo Dhara Cultural Association is completely locally sourced, meaning everything from the idol to its decoration is made in Bengaluru. “Our idol maker for this rendition of Durga Puja is Jayadev Pal, who also made the idol for our first pujo in 2019,” says Kaustav Debnath, joint-secretary of the association. Since their puja is relatively new, the first two years were held inside the Bhartiya City campus. However, since 2021, they have been organising it outside right opposite the Bhartiya City Discovery Centre.

Just as Bongo Dhara is locally sourced, their idol maker for this year Jayadev Pal has also been a native of this city for over 30 years. “I have been making idols in Bengaluru since 1991 when I moved here. Back then, I used to make idols for three pujas, at Rajajinagar, RT Nagar and another at Hotel Geo. A lot has changed for the better since then. We now make idols for over 100 Durga Pujas here,” says Jayadev Pal, who shares that their work for this year’s Puja has been in the works for the past five months.

PUJO SPECIAL EDITION
Ananda Mela Bangalore will be celebrating the occasion of Mahalaya, which marks the beginning of the Durga Puja, with ‘Jago Durga’ on September 24 at Hotel Tulip Inn, Koramangala. It will include cultural programmes, fun games and competitions, a quiz, Dhunuchi Naach, and other attractions along with a dinner comprising Bengali cuisine. They will launch Bengaluru’s first Bengali magazine, Ananda Barta, a pujo special edition, which will include 25 Bengali write-ups written by the common man. “The Bengali culture is deep-rooted and not just about draping a red-bordered white saree, dhuti panjabi, and rosogolla. The essence of Bengal will allow Bengalis here to feel at home with their culture. We will also conduct a fashion show that will showcase the evolution of Bengali attire,” says Samhati Bhattacharjya, founder, Ananda Mela, Bangalore.