Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ protest, NRC: Political issues enter Durga Puja pandals as themes in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Theme pujas that took Kolkata by storm around two decades ago have over the years offered millions an insight into not only the brilliant minds of artists and their innovation , but also evolved in recent times to present commentaries on more serious and darker sociopolitical issues that haunt our lives. In 2017, demonetisation or ‘notebandi’ was the theme in two Puja pandals in the city and its suburbs. Last year, at least three pandals highlighted the plight of migrant labourers left to find their way back from distant lands on their own after the country shut down for the pandemic. This year, two Puja pandals, situated at the two ends of the city, have again showcased two political issues— the new farm laws and the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC). Both Rintu and Arniban believe artists cannot be dumb spectators to the troubling times India is passing through. Barisha Club in BehalaTheme artist Anirban Das, who had last year highlighted the pandemic-induced shutdown in the pandal of Dum Dum Park Bharat Chakra with larger-than-life motifs of daily life to showcase a city waking up from a slumber to usher in the Puja, has this time sought to shake the audience’s conscience by putting the spotlight on farmers’ protests and last week’s carnage in Lakhimpur, where a speeding vehicle appeared to mow down protesting farmers. At the very entrance to the pandal is a giant replica of a tractor used by farmers to till the land. This is followed by a wall graffiti of a vehicle and a farmer lying on its path with a line in Bengali that reads “Motorgari uray dhulo, peeshe morey chashigulo (Farmers are crushed under the wheels of cars that speed away, raising a dust storm)”. Anirban said the graffiti had been created to depict how poor farmers were exploited, with the vehicle being used as a metaphor for the wealthy; the Lakhimpur incident added a stark and chilling representation of the horror that had played out at the protest site. “I was working on a theme to showcase the history of farm protests in India, from the Tebhaga movement to recent ones, when the horrific incident happened in Lakhimpur. I have mentioned the name Lakhimpur in one of the several placards that lie scattered, as though abandoned in a hurry, after being lathi-charged by the police,” explained Anirban. A collage of hundreds of sandals also depicts a stampede as a result of the lathi-charge to disperse the protesters using brute force. In Behala, where Puja pandals have exploded into prominence ever since they adopted themes and wowed visitors with installations in confined spaces. Barisha Club theme artist Rintu Das broke away from pure aesthetics last year to present Goddess Durga as a migrant worker, queuing up for relief with her four children. This year, Rintu has showcased the plight of “refugees”, who are now faced with uncertainty again after being displaced during Independence or during the Bangladesh Liberation War. The reference is to the NRC that threatens to uproot people if they are unable to prove their citizenship through documents. “My theme is ‘Bhagir Ma’ (A mother divided). I start from a time in history when acting on a dream, Raja Ballabh Sen unearthed a 2.5ft statue of Maa Durga hidden amid the overgrowth in a forested patch near present-day Dhaka and established the Dhakeshwari temple. After Partition, millions were rendered homeless and had to migrate. Even Maa Durga wasn’t spared and had to be relocated to a temple in Kumartuli, where she is now worshipped. But she has no document to prove she is an Indian citizen. The terror of being forcibly displaced that had spread in Assam and the rest of the Northeast and indeed the rest of the country due to the NRC issue is haunting many mothers, including Maa Durga,” explained Rintu. The artist has crafted a powerful image of a caged Durga on a truck stranded in noman’s land between the India-Bangladesh border with her children and a Dhakeshwari idol in her lap.

The Times of India

2021-10-09

Kolkata