Kolkata:
With Bengal's biggest festival barely two-and-a-half months away, a prominent puja organiser on Sunday announced roping in a big time city artiste to work on its theme about a popular passenger mode transport in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Award winning artiste Bhabatosh Sutar, instrumental in bringing laurels for bigh ticket city community pujas last few years, said, "We have taken cue from the popular rickshaws of Bangladesh which are colourful and have an identity of their own. The pandal will be in the shape of this vehicle only."
"And by highlighting the rickshaws we will seek to put on focus the ever-dwindling number of rickshaws in city, an eco-friendly mode of transport sustaining thousands of poor people," Mr Sutar said after the khuti (bamboo pole) pujo, to herald the auspicious start of the festivities, organised by Bandhushree club.
Mr Sutar had earlier been instrumental in fetching best creativity 'Sharad Samman' awards for other big ticket puja organisers like Naktala Udayan Sangha, Ahiritola and Barisha Club.
Eminent danseuse Preeti Patel, admittedly more familiar with Nabaratri celebrations in Gujarat, said, "I know how passionate are Bengalis about Durga Puja, which they have shortened as Pujo and identify with the spirit instantly."
"I have heard a lot about Durga puja celebrations in Kolkata, how the whole city gets involved in the whole creative, aesthetic process and would love to be part of the experience once in my lifetime," the 2011 Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee said.
"Bandhushree got laurels for its Durga puja celebrations last year and we are happy to have the Mangalam group with our initiative," club Secretary Ujjal Sarkar said on the occasion also graced by Tollywood stars Nusrat Jahan and June Maliah.
"Our theme this year is 'Sesh theke Suru', where the spectators will see the pandal and the goddess inside at the very start and then proceed to another world where they will see something we won't disclose now," secretary of a big budget puja committee in Kalighat area, said.