Kolkata: Theme artistes in Kolkata say reverence for Ma Durga and artistic freedom are not opposing impulses, even as recent advisories from the VHP and the govt have urged Durga Puja organisers and creators to ensure that idols and themes remain true to Sanatani traditions.Bhabatosh Sutar, among the city’s most influential contemporary puja artistes, said he would not be intimidated by any diktat or “fatwa” on how the Goddess should be represented. Sutar, who in 2023 created Ganadevata, a 15-foot idol at Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club depicting Durga as an ordinary woman and a symbol of resilience amid collective suffering, said artistic integrity could not be separated from devotion.“We create with respect. There is no contradiction between respect for Ma Durga and our creative freedom,” he said. This year, his theme at Telipukur Yuba Sangha in Nagerbazar is centred on environment and conservation, with the para pond as its focal point. “The message is to love the neighbourhood pond that has been neglected as we have moved to tanks and swimming pools,” he said, adding that he would have chosen a more radical theme had the moment demanded it.Sushanta Pal, whose work this year includes Tala Prattay, Chor Bagan Sarbajanin, Santoshpur Avenue South and Ballygunge Cultural, said Durga’s image has always allowed different imaginations. At Tala Prattay, the theme is Bibhajan, or detachment, a word that may evoke the puja’s relocation from Tala Park or internal changes in the organising committee. “But the theme is actually about detachment from the physical world and spiritual connection with the Goddess,” Pal said.He said there could be no single approved face of Durga. “If you want Durga to be like your mother, every mother looks different. The way I perceive Durga is different from another artiste’s imagination. One cannot have a conventional Durga that looks alike in every pandal. But all of us create Durga with reverence,” he said.Pradipta Karmakar will present Durga as an ayah mashi at Paschim Putiari Palli Unnayan Samiti, honouring the caregiver who raises a child and tends to the elderly. “I am paying respect to a mother we see in daily life,” he said. At Chaltabagan, his theme Parampara will explore stories linked to women’s hair, from a mother oiling and braiding her daughter’s hair to Draupadi’s humiliation before ‘vastraharan’. At Kidderpore 75 Palli, his theme Parasray draws from the koel’s brood parasitism to reflect on human destruction of the ecosystem.Gouranga Kuila’s theme at 41 Palli in Haridevpur is Brihannala, Arjuna’s gender-transformed identity during exile. “Durga will be her usual self, but Shiva will appear as Ardhanarishvara,” he said. At Tridhara, he will shape Durga in a Buddhist form for an oriental theme.Some artistes are choosing caution. Subrata Banerjee’s Allen Park theme is Tandava, while Chetla Agrani will present Biswarupe Biswarupeni. Anirban Das, working on five Kolkata pujas and one in Contai, said he had anticipated the stress on Sanatani traditions, with themes drawing on the Ramayana, the panjika and ancient Bengal’s trading communities. “We artistes draw from scriptures, epics and life around us. I will continue to do so,” he said.
