SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Sept 29: Several Durga Puja committees all over the city have set up pandals to celebrate Navratri and Durga Puja after a break of two years. For this, Pandal makers have been called over from Kolkata and several other states in the country.
The Ranchi Railway Station Durga Puja Committee has also called in workers and pandal makers from Kolkata. Teams of drapes men, light men, workers for bamboo set up and much more have been called by the committee members.
When questioned regarding the same, committee Chairperson Munchun Rai said, “Every year we try to surpass the expectations of the devotees that regularly visit our pandals every Durga Puja through our varied designs. We make sure that these are all new designs that have never been used. We began by showcasing the cultures of different states like Kerala. Another one of our pandals was based on the concept of Chhau dance.”
When asked how the designs are selected, he said, “We have designers in Kolkata that prepare designs for pandals not only in Kolkata or Ranchi but have clients all over. They design the pandals with our input and try to express the message that we want to give the devotees through art. The designer often sends us three-four designs of which one is selected.”
When asked about the workers, he said that all workers are brought from Kolkata, as mixing people from different states who speak different languages may end up creating issues.
One of the workers Ramesh Parmar said that he had been in the business of making pandals for 11-12 years and that it was his family business.
Parmar further said that he had brought a total of 20 people from Kolkata that had different work profiles to work on the pandal for around four months. “We have made teams to set up bamboo, drape clothes, light and woodwork.
When questioned how they managed in the pandemic, another worker said that they managed through smaller projects that were allowed, and when that was not possible they would not work for months at a time without the hopes of bringing in money. “Several of my friends and I started working in fields in our villages,” he added.
Furthermore, explaining about the message they want to spread among devotees, organiser Rai said, “The pandal is not a mushroom, but a mushroom cloud that is formed after an atomic explosion. Through this, we want to make people aware of the dangers of atomic weapons and the need to protect the environment.”
The pandal in the form of a mushroom holds the garbhagriha, where the statue of the Goddess is placed. Entry into it is through a small narrow corridor, which depicts small insects, fishes, animals and even Ravan made of tree barks and plies. It is as if the animals and insects are running away from the explosion of a nuclear weapon.
When asked about ways they protect the structure made of cotton, the workers said that the cotton-like balls were of a material that repels water. The balls have been stuck to meshes to give them a proper shape to cover the roof of the pandal.
The committee members further informed that the pandal would be opened to the general public on Friday.
