Durga Puja in Kolkata to honour WB's long connection with Afghanistan

A community Puja in the northern outskirts of Kolkata this year will connect the City of Joy with the land of Kabuliwalas through music. The main attraction of the event is that two Pakhtoon singers, who are currently based out of Kolkata, will sing the theme song

Kolkata: At a time when Afghanistan is going through troubled times following the Taliban takeover of the country, a community Puja in the northern outskirts of Kolkata this year will connect the City of Joy with the land of Kabuliwalas through music.

Ashwininagar Bandhu Mahal, a local club at Baguihati in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, is organising this Puja. The main attraction of the event is that two Pakhtoon singers, who are currently based out of Kolkata, will sing the theme song of this Puja. At the same time, some Afghan belly dancers will also perform at the event.

According to the organisers, West Bengal has a long connection with Afghanistan, a country that has featured in the literary works of so many Bengali writers.

"However, currently Afghanistan is in the headlines for wrong reasons. Following the resurrection of the Taliban Raj, the people there are suffering. We need to connect somewhere with their miseries. So we have decided that this year our theme song will be sung by Pakhtoon singers," one of the organisers said.

While this is the major attraction for the Puja this year, another attraction will be that the idol of Goddess Durga will sport a golden mask. And instead of weapons, the ten hands of the Goddess will carry life-saving medical equipment like surgical masks, thermometer, pulse oximeter and injection syringe, among others. According to the organiser, this unique idea is to spread awareness of the Covid-19 pandemic and how to prevent it.

This year's theme of the Puja has been named Arun, to pay tribute to famous theme artist Late Arun Pa, who died last year. Samrat Bhattacharjee, the theme artist for the Puja this year, said that everyone believes that the blessing of Goddess Durga will relieve the people from the curse called COVID-19.

"At the same time, public awareness is also necessary to prevent this pandemic. So the idol will sport masks and other medical equipment," he said.