uniindia.com

KOLKATA, INDIA, October 3, 2005: As the countdown begins for Durga puja, Bengal’s greatest festival, Kolkata unfurls itself as a massive art gallery presenting India in art and decor. With barely a week to go for the three-day festival, activities have gone to a feverish height for community puja organizers to present newer themes combining the festivity with the country’s diverse cultures. The list is endless and mind boggling — from Bihar’s Madhubani art to 12th Century art of Karnataka and from Manipur’s village to Indo-Tibetan fresco painting — all coming to virtual reality. The quest for lost folk arts goes elsewhere as well — Orissa, Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan while some have even run far beyond the country’s borders to churn out novelty in the theme. Social and religious thoughts and cerebral ideas are the USP of some puja organizers, likely to draw huge crowds. Gone are the days when Devi Durga was worshipped in her traditional form or even when, till the mid-nineties, ostentatious decor and garish illumination ruled the roost. With a number of awards for best pujas emphasizing on artistic values, finery and novelty, a search is on to trace the roots of Indianness from among communities in the country’s remotest corners and their cultures, beliefs and life styles. While Rajasthani art was one of the favorite subjects for a number of pujas last year, this time South Indian art seems to have taken the fancy of at least four puja organizers. In a puja in the city’s Hatkhola area, the pandal is being crafted with all finesse after the 12th century temple art style during the rule of the Hoesal dynasty in Karnataka while the Brihadeswar temple has been replicated at another place.

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