We are into the second day of the 10-day Durga Pujo celebrations and pandals in Kolkata have already begun unveiling this year’s Durga idols and their unique themes. One such pandal in Kolkata has gone with a unique theme. They are honouring the lives of sex workers and the theme is ‘Parichay’ (identity).
The idol depicting the lives of sex workers has been brought to the Nawpara Dadabhai Sangh Pujo Committee in Kolkata by actor-turned-Lok Sabha MP Shatrughan Sinha on Monday, September 26, 2022.
The pandal depicts the society the sex workers live in, the way people see them, and how they are often subjected to remain anonymous without an identity. The Durga idol is made of silicon (a first for the city’s pujos as most idols are made of clay and straw) has been installed in the pandal already. It has been given the form of a mother with a baby in her lap to show how a sex worker can be many things, among which she can also be a fiesty mother.
Speaking to ANI regarding this pujo, Sinha said, “It is a boon by Maa Durga. The entire state of West Bengal is drenched in the colours of the festival. I have been coming to Durga Pujo for years, but it is a matter of fortune for me that I am inaugurating this pandal. I am grateful to Saugata ji and Mamata Banerjee.”
The theme of the pandal is designed and conceptualised by Sandip Mukherjee who expressed his perspective on the pandal and sex workers. He mentioned that there is a need to bring about a change in the perspective of people. “Prostitution is a profession, but for the common people, is it a profession? We can say which profession we are in, but can they say so? Because we see them from a different perspective. We should change this perspective. Our project is to bring about change in society. Why can’t they come when they are also doing their job?” Mukherjee said.
He further added, “We have attached the ambiance of a mother in the idol which depicts the sex workers. We gave them the silicon form to make it attractive and touching to the people. This is for the first time that an idol of Maa Durga has been made of silicon.”
Comparing the pandal to a movie, Mukherjee mentioned that he had this idea for a long time and this time his proposal was finally accepted by the organisers of the club. “If we see the pandal from the front, it will seem like a movie. The lives of the sex workers have been displayed in the theme. I had this concept for many years, presented it before other organisers, but they could not show courage to give it a nod until this time.”
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While society looks down upon the community of sex workers and their livelihood, there is a tradition in Bengal where tradition mandates one of the most important elements in a Durga idol is the soil collected from a sex worker’s home. The soil is called ‘punyomati’ (auspicious or pure soil) collected from the nishiddho palli (forbidden streets).
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