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| Durga idol Ahiritola Jubakbrinda |
Durga puja is a not just celebrated by Bengalis, the entire city celebrates this festival. People from all walks of life celebrate this joyous festival about the victory of good over evil. It is one of the most inclusive festivals I have ever seen, and which is why it is so unique and has to be experienced at least once!
The Durga pandals have different themes with social messages. The innovative, artistic, and creative pandals leaves you in a dream like state….
I am sharing some of the Durga puja pandals that I loved. I could only see a fraction of the Durga puja pandals this year but even that is enough to give you an idea of the love, joy, and inclusiveness this festival is all about!
I will start with a pandal which left a deep impact on me.
The one thing that really makes durga puja so very unique and inclusive is...the soil that is used in making the Durga idols. The soil, which is one of the key elements in the mix, is sourced from Sonagachi, and Sonagachi happens to be Asia's largest red light area!
This year, the Durga pandal of Ahiritola Jubakbrinda in north Kolkata depicted the struggles and challenges faced by sex workers who have been forced to enter this profession.Through poems, graffiti, and powerful messages this durga pandal made sure that they spread awareness about the difficult life that prostitutes live. The message was clear "sex workers have the right to live in the society with respect and dignity".
It is humane things like this that restores my hope in mankind, and makes me optimistic about a world where all is not lost, and that humanity in human beings still exists.
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The write -up on the top right, is from the perspective of man, addressing the prostitute as "Mother". I will try to get the essence of this message across, not certain though if I will be able to capture it that well...but let me give it a try:
Who calls you a prostitute
who asks after you or
who wants to know your story
That's why one more time I address you as mother
though I know you are forced to exist on the margins of the society
so many helpless women like you wait in the dark dressed to attract
If you are a prostitute what sort of gentleman am I
My uncle and father they too desire you if they find you alone in the dark
You are like Ganges carrying the sins of others on you
You bear the responsibility of your family, taking the last train home
and returning to your children and ailing husband.
Today it is not your dignity but looking after your family is priority for you hence today
you are not a prostitute but a worker, whose workplace is Sonagachi
We are not men but demons....
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