With inputs of possible terror strikes and ethnic tension ahead of Durga Puja, city police have beefed up security in Durga Puja pandals to prevent any untoward incident during the festival.
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Anindya Hajra, one of Pratyay’s founder members told The Huffington Post, “We are conscious how sites of worship and associated rituals have Brahminical associations and often act as a site of misogyny, prejudice and violence”.
Breaking the age old tradition, where everything from conceptualising the idol to decorating the marquee (Pandal) is male dominated, this time around the idea was proposed by a 55-year-old transgender, Bhanu Naskar and crafted by China Pal, who is the only woman artisan of Kumortuli, north Kolkata.
Designed by a woman artist, the transgender idol is modeled on the Ardhanarishwar, or the composite andogynous form of the Hindu Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.
“This is an attempt to bring an end to that discrimination cutting across caste and gender lines”, he said. “Are they not human?” asked Ghanashyam Shaw, a senior official of Udyami Yubak Brinda.
Kolkata’s community pujas are known to experiment with different themes carrying social messages – from protecting the environment to the scourge of dowry – and this attempt at mixing the masculine and the feminine in the same body is an effort aimed at a creating space for the city’s transgenders, say organisers.
While the transgender group is eager to make this an annual Durga Puja event, they will take stock of how this year’s celebration goes before deciding next steps.
“We are going against the conventions by helping the local club organise the puja”.
Among the thousands of puja pandals that dot Kolkata, a small-budget puja committee in Sovabazar will stand out this year.
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Speaking on the necessity to crowd-source the skills of Basic Life Support in the hectic festive scenario, Chief Consultant Emergency at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur Dr Ashish Nandy said, Through all these years Durga Puja in the state has become an assemblage of thousands of people.
