USING REFLECTION IN PUJA PANDAL (2016) DECORATION

33 Pally Sarbajanin - 

Inverted umbrella made out of rear-view mirrors.

This year ( 2016 ) , I have come across two Puja pandals with remarkable and very aesthetic  use of mirrors to decorate the interior of the pandals.

The first one I would mention is a very well-known Durga Puja of this year - ' 33 Pally Sarbajanin '. Over-all planning here is by Shibshankar Das . He has used Ambassador cars and its parts to decorate the pandal - demonstrating  the height Kolkata's installation art reaches during Durga Puja.At the entrance , he has installed an 'inverted umbrella'-shaped  canopy decorated with 500+  rear view mirrors  on the pathway that leads to the pandal.

33 Pally Sarbajanin - 

A closer view of the above.

Inside the pandal, he created two  giant  'haat-paakhaa' ( hand held fan)  on each side of the podium the idols are placed. The surfaces of the 'fans' have quadrants of .mirror, reflecting the idols . Here is one comment  - I could not  find out the position from where I could see reflection of  Devi's face .

33 Pally Sarbajanin - 

Reflection of the idols on quadrants of mirrors.

Kali Puja at Parnasree is a big event. Surya Sangha started very early with their pandal construction and decoration. Huge chandelier was installed inside with  lots and lots of mirrors on the inside walls. Very impressive decoration as the mirrors framing added to the  effect created.

'Surya Sangha , Parnasree  -

The Dark Goddess and Illumination around Her .

DURGA PUJA ,2016 : PART 1

'Tridhara' - 

Huge heads of  buffaloes , scores of plaques with African motifs decorate the huge pandal.

After spending a quiet Durga Puja in Helsinki during 2015 , I was looking forward to the  grand show of Durga Puja in Kolkata in 2016. Puja pandal decoration was completed by Triteeya/Chaturthi and pandal-hopping started with big enthusiasm. We went out before sun-rise on the mornings of Panchami and Shashthi too. On mid-day of  Saptami, we covered the local pandals of Parnasree. That was the time when Anjali was being offered to Devi almost in all the pandals we covered.On the mornings of Nabami and Ekadashi, we went out again with our cameras. Very rewarding experience indeed.

'66 Pally' -

Devi's idol,the pandal and the decoration around remind the viewer 

to the charm of old Kolkata !

TV shows, however, were mostly disappointing. These shows covered mostly the crowd thronging the pandals and boasting members of the organisers' committees. But, the cameras hardly covered the decoration, the lighting or the idols . Probably, the organisers do not want the TV viewers see the many details on TV screen. They are happy only when more and more people queue up  through       l-o-n-g corridors shaped by  thousands of bamboo poles leading the 'Entry' gates.If  viewers  get satisfying details in TV , why will they come to the pandals in hordes ?

Deshapriya Park  - 

Much-hyped ' Durga with Thousand hands'  &

a glimpse of the idol that was 'worshiped' according to rituals through an opening on the high pedestal of the former.

We went pandal-hopping either early morning or mid-morning,  time slots not-so-popular . Yet, peaceful viewing and photography were quite difficult . Besides the crowd, we faced problem of lighting too. For example at Tridhara, lighting of the alcove housing Devi's idol   was switched off in the early morning. As a result, hardly any details were visible. It necessitated a lot of efforts  to extract presentable photographs from the raw shots.

 'Badamtala Ashadh Sangh' -

Excellent decoration with broken bricks and terra cotta images . Disappointing layout since the Devi's idol is placed at a distance , chairs etc were scattered in front of Her pedestal , creating an unkempt look .  

 'Badamtala Ashadh Sangh' -

Impact/appeal of the huge inverted lotus marred  by 

the thick cable running across.

In fact, some of the  pandals we visited were not designed to cater to serious viewers. It seems to thrive on ' More are the nos of viewers, happier are the  sponsors' principle. I found  excellent 'art'work marred by bad lighting , un-organised  placement of furniture , large distance between viewer's space and where the idols are positioned. In several cases, tip of Devi's crowns  were not visible, the sides of 'Ganesha' and 'Kartick' poorly illuminated.

'Ballygunge Cultural' -

The 'Asura'  here looks strong -  most of Kolkata's idol-makers seems to  have no idea  what the appearance of 'Mahishasura' should be. 

He threw the gods out of heaven & 

it took the  power and weapons of ten of them to defeat him.

But, these aberrations are 0.1% of the whole show. The artistic value  of  the installations and  efforts were simply astounding.

'Parnasree Club' -

After 'Astami' Puja.

PUBLICATIONS ON DURGA PUJA OF CALCUTTA

MY EXPECTATIONS  AS A READER

Work of Tarun Dey @ Behala Udayan Pally , 2013.

 Excellent work on Durga's Iconography.

Work of Tarun Dey @ Behala Udayan Pally , 2012. 

 Devi descends from the skyalong spiral of jyoti and lotuses

and Asura at the  bottom of spiral . !

I enjoy writings/ photos of Durga Puja pandals and the idols published in newspapers and periodicals as well as coverage in  TV shows . Since we returned to Calcutta permanently in December,2003,  I gradually learnt to pick-up the best from the pre-Puja reports and the publications during the active days of Puja. Ruby and I visit  pandals  in early mornings and on Panchami/Dashami/Ekadashi mornings/nights to enjoy the work of art  and  take photos to add to our collection.  Being a senior citizen, I always avoid crowd.  Crowd is a deterrent to taking photos . Sometimes, the volunteers  are too pushy . Only occasionally they demonstrate  tolerance when they notice my age and  a DSLR with a telephoto.

 Work of Bhabotosh Sutar @Naktala Udayan Sangha, 2013.

 Installation resembles a  temple and its court-yard.

 Apart from  serious writings in Newspapers/periodicals - example : Tapati Guha Thakurta of CSDS, Shouvik Sengupta - I have not come across much in print on modern day Durga Puja of Calcutta.  So much  hard work is done for 3/4 months every year ahead of  Calcutta's greatest show of autumn festival, so little impact  the event makes in our books and periodicals. Films do use  Durga Puja  many times - but it is 'Kahani' that used  the street festival spirit in a manner that attracted major attention of people.

 Work of Partha  Roy @ Suhrid Sangha ,2013.

 Unconventional Iconography .

 From my side, I have made humble effort to write blogs containing photos  of pujas of Behala, of Sanatan Dinda's work, of  some good work of Tarun Dey, Sibsankar Das  and Bhabotosh Sutar.  The most  viewed among them is a Puja very dear to my heart  -  that of Nalin Sarkar Street in  2011.

 

Work of Sanatan Dinda @ Nalin Sarkar Street, 2011.

 A grand composition positioned within  a superb installation.

 In 2013, news about two publications have made me very happy - one book on Durga puja of Calcutta has already has been published  and the other reportedly is getting ready. I read about the 1st book from a post by my friend Kanad Sanyal. It is compiled by Samrat Chatterjee who is my one-time neighbour and a well-known name in  Calcutta's Durga Puja circuit. The second one is pleasant revelation  - on 20/10/2013,The Telegraph published an extract from a Coffee-table  book which is being made ready by  Mudar Pathreya of Trysis .

 @ Badamtala Asharhsangha,2008.

Pandal styled on Kalighat Pata.

 I take this opportunity to convey to  Mr Pathreya that I look forward to   some serious writings on iconography of Durga,  comparison of concepts of 'Installation Art' among the  present crop Art College pass-outs, their contribution in  changing face of Puja pandal decoration,  plagiarism ....... etc.

 Mr MUDAR PATHREYA, our expectation is high !

DURGA PUJA @ PARNASRE SOUTH BLOCK CLUB,2013

A FINE REPRESENTATION OF FOLK ART

 Idol installed in an unequal hexagon. 

 'Chalchitra' complements the geometry - not completely. 

From every angle, a slice stay out of camera's view. Alas,crouching was difficult for me !

 The vanquished !

Triangles, diagonals and squares in frame-work of the pandals  and  very traditional  folk art  - a very distinguished look for  Parnasree South Block Club's  Durga Puja.  A very fine  balanced composition- neither ostentatious nor clumsy.

  View from the gate A vertical pillar, decorated  nicely, 

hides full-view of  Durga.

From entrance to 'chalchitra', mythology and folklores  adorn the pandal. We went there on the evening of Sapatami. When downloading, I saw the the p[anels on the compound wall have not been properly captured. Ruby took a few shots though. I went back in the morning of Astami mid-day when  'pujo' was not over.  The area was full of devotees and - and  later I understood - people waiting for lunch/'bhog' to be served.

 Krsnaleela and Ravan in a vertical panel, inside the pandal.

 Punishment at hell - a horizontal panel on the compound wall.

 
Most of my friends believe that Puja pandal cannot remain empty and people's head/torso popping in enhances the appeal.Looks authentic ! Here are photos from  what we shot on Saptami eveing and Astami noon.

 

On   LH - 'Shakti/Chandi' rides a tiger  .

RH - Festivity in a village as a Patua narrates his tale.

  I was  very happy - in fact thrilled  - when I found ABP Ananda gave coverage to this pandal on the morning of Nabami. But for the location - distance from a  main road - aesthetically, a very good work stayed beyond the notice of pandal-hoppers !

 

View of the gate from inside.

DURGA PUJA @ BARISHA CLUB, 2013 : BY SANATAN DINDA

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEAVENLY !

  Momentum.... momentum ! 

And ... blessings from the celestial, much like  temple art of India.

 It was my good luck that  Ruby and I   were invited by a Group to spend a day with them during pre-Puja days to visit nine pandals-in-the-making and  help them in short-listing the better ones. Barisha Club was one of the pandals we visited. I am a keen follower of Sanatan's work - on Panchami's clear night, we ventured a visit . It was mid-night - quite a big gathering there. We could have hardly an opportunity to take photographs without  people's heads interfering or entering the frame/s. Besides, unlike last year, this year, we had  lesser space for moving around and no VIP area for photography. Therefore, I am much unhappy with the result we brought back in our cameras.

 Conch @ Entrance (LH) , Siva-Sati @ Exit (RH) .

 

The welcoming conch.

'Brikshadevi' - warning us about our abuse of nature.

No matter how much celestial blessing is there, 

NATURE need be protected.  

Offerings  at the feet of 'Brikshadevi'.

At the entrance, Sanatan installed a huge conch and a 'Brikshadevi'. A huge scroll rests on the ground wjich could not be photographed.On both the flanks, there were religious motifs, lotuses,  crawling vegetation ending ina human body lying prostrate at Devi's feet.

  Sanatan's Durga carries all  the attributes mentioned in  scripture.

Vanquished demons  pray for her forgiveness, may be salvation too !

 Photograph taken from an opening on the  path to 'Exit'. 
Better view was not possible because of a reluctant Security person.

 Devi in momentum, Mahishasura, Chanda-Munda begging for her blessing in a corner - in a typical Sanatan-style -  very small depictions of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik.

 Totems (?)  on a mythological platter ?

Siva holds Sati (?) in a wonderful wall-relief like set-up in the exit that has been clicked thousands of times and posted in the internet by numerous photographers.

  Siva holds Sati - viewers are left to decide 

if this scene depicts Siva's sorrow on  Sati's demise !

On the left, a hollow lotus  with the idol in line of view.

We have in our HDD  more photos - to be shared - of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik, of the demons and the ones we took when we went  during the pre-Puja visit.  In fact, several photos which we took during that visit could not be re-shot this time because of crowd. For example, the scroll lying in front of the idol.

 The scroll  must have been overlooked by many.

Wish the space management was as good as in 2012 !!

  Is  this a scene of submission of the Evil ?

I end with a photo at the bottom of the layout where lies a person with horns, painted in angry red colour, coming  from the extended  roots of the 'Brihshadevi' standing at the entrance - both the figures' hands outstretched !

FIERCE MANIFESTATIONS OF SIVA & SHAKTI FROM HOYSALESWAEA TEMPLE, HALEBID

 HAVE YOU MISSED THESE WALL-RELIEFS

 IN YOUR 'parikrama' ?

 Siva's fierce manifestation . He has three eyes, fangs out,

carries a severed head in his lower left arm. 

Noticeable : his earrings are identical, 

Ganas are normal people - no skeletal figure here.

Sculptor could not manage the shape of Siva's right leg !

We  would have missed them if we did not decide to look for interesting wall-reliefs on the Nandi Pavilions. The circumbulatory path of this sprawling temple with two 'garbhagrihas' and its  interior offer  such an oeuvre of photographer's delight !  Only on 2nd thought, we decided to venture this side. As such , I was bogged down with a weak battery and my enthusiasm level was low. Ruby covered  more than I could with my sleepy camera.

 A close of the severed head, being carried by Siva Bhairava.

 Hoysaleswara temple - those who have  visited this temple physically know this well - had several problems of  the curator function.  Wall-reliefs of same nature were  'created' by several top sculptors and all had be be accommodated on the temple's walls , leaving no recess inbetween. If at all a relief was to be provided, wall-reliefs of musicians were inserted . The wall-reliefs with apparent defects were banished to Nandi Pavilions.

MahisasuraMardini. A perfect study of attributes.

She  is about to pierce a demon mounted on the lion's shoulder - strange & uncommon  imagery.

Sculptor could not manage buffalo's shape & size.

I have picked up two wall reliefs of fierce manifestations of  Siva and Shakti   as proof of my 'theory'. Let me see  if comments come forth !

NOTE - Ruby Chatterji has suggested that the demon/lion  corner is not at all clear ! Here is an exploded view :

DURGA PUJA 2012 - PART I

 Devi and her 'children'- Kartik in far right as seen in this photo - come down a spiral. 

Tarun De. Barisha Udayan Club.

Very lyrical,very graceful posture.

Many photographers - both amateur and professional - who like to chronicle their love for Durga Puja  start their  journey from Kumortuli. These journeys   have produced some wonderful shots , some repeatations. I have  been too lazy to visit Kumortuli for photography - only once I  went there as a child with my grandfather . I reckon this is one experience  I have missed so far.

  Devi among two hemispheres ( lower one in this photo) , within a Pavilion conceived as a 'Kadamba' flower. 

Shib Shankar Das. Santoshpur Triangular Park. 

(Photo taken 14days before inauguration)

  Devi ushering peace. A very tranquil image. 

Shib Shankar Das. Santoshpur Triangular Park.

 This year my association with Durga Puja started with visits to 'sites' where Sanatan Dinda , Shiba Prasad Das  and Purnendu Dey  were working beyond the eyes of the public. I also did a good amount of internet search to  get hold of old photographs of Jiten Pal's work, which brought into contact contact with some veteran Press photographers and finally Naba Pal, grandson of legendary Jiten Pal. More on the work of searching archives at a later date. Though I am yet to get the photographs I was looking for.

 Huge butterfly , installed by Bhabotosh Sutar. Naktala Udayan Sangha.

Looks like a dream when illuminated in the night. 

Devi  envisaged by Bhabotosh Sutar  in spite of  publicity,  a disappointment.

During our 'Puja Parikrama' this year, I have seen  a good no of excellent work. I am also learning to appreciate the great amount of artistic as well as mundane work which go into making an outstanding pavilion and at the same time shaping an idol that stands out in the crowd,stays in the heart of the viewer.

  Pavilion @ Barisha Sarbajanin,shaped as a massive 'SivaLinga' getting ready. 

Sanatan Dinda.

Yet, there are artists who do not get publicity  and their good work is ignored by the prize-giving community, at times by the pandal-hoppers who  are often guided by the Bengali News channels. One major work which has been largely overlooked is Barisha Udayan Palli. Tarun De's work - in Gen Y's language - rocks.

  'ShivLinga' @ Barisha Sarbajanin. 

Sanatan Dinda.

Devi placed within a cut-out on the 'SivaLinga' ,viewed at an angle.
Flames rage on the blue-coloured Linga. Symbols of eye  seem to float on it !
Barisha Sarbajanin. Sanatan Dinda.

 Sanatan Dinda's works in 2012 need elaborate explanation.It has several layers - beyond the obvious visual. More on Sanatan's work in future posts.

GEARING UP FOR DURGAPUJA 2012 - II

PAVILIONS EX-ORDINARY 2011

 A very traditional idol of Durga.

Singhee Park.

 A broken terra cotta gate and pavilion attracted viewers 

from far & wide. South Calcutta.

When a question like 'Traditional or Theme-Pujo ?'  is placed as a matter of routine to a celebrity by an eager TV Jockey, the most common answer is 'Traditional'. A very safe answer !

 Two neighbouring Puja pavilions - shaped like vermilion container 

and lamp stand.South Calcutta.

I  enjoy the variations offered by the other kind of Durga-Puja - popularly known as ' Theme-Pujo'. It requires thoughts, debates, mobilisation and execution at a different level . If all the 'baro-iyari' pijas in Calcutta were according to traditional model, it would have been quite monotonous. Variations are offered by those organisers who think out-of-the-box and execute variation/s which please/s the viewers' eyes and senses. Ofter, the deity is built and decorated  in a traditional fashion, yet, the surroundings, specially the pavilion is 'built' with lots of novelty.

Chariot - not a very novel thought, but, tidy execution.

South Calcutta.

Here,I present  quite a few examples of novelty . I hope the viewers will like my collection. I end with a very traditional pavilion of South Calcutta.

Singhee Park,South Calcutta.