Kolkata (India) correspondent: Yesterday South Kolkata’s NRC-themed Durga Puja pandal has topped the West Bengal government’s ‘best of the best’ list. South Kolkata’s Barisha Club Durga Puja pandal chose a theme called‘Bhager Maa’ (Division of Mother) to depict apprehensions over the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The state government announced the much awaited ‘Biswa Bangla Sarad Samman 2021, conducted by Biswa Bangla, on Monday. The award was designed in 2013 to felicitate the best puja pandals in and around Kolkata.
A total of 36 Durga Puja pandals have been given the award of ‘serar sera’, which translated to ‘best of the best’.
Barisha Club’s pandal depicts the Goddess Durga in a NRC camp. In the pandal, the goddess is shown as a mother with her children being taken to a detention camp in a vehicle.
“The idol is that of a mother with her kids who have suddenly been told that they are not citizens of India. They are stuck between India and Bangladesh in a vehicle where they do not know where to go,” said Debashish Bose. The pandal shows various props which have been collected from the partition era. The idol is of a lady with her four kids in a prison van. The van depicts no man’s land, with the two sides showing the borders of India and Bangladesh.
Speaking to India Today, a senior official of the club said that this year’s theme aims to project the plight of people who did not make it to the NRC list even though they have been residing in the country for ages.
Barisha club is famous for showcasing varied themes of Durga Puja pandal. Last year, the puja committee had depicted the migrant crisis, with the Goddess portraying a migrant worker.
News is being sent by BTC News (Bangladesh) Kolkata (India) correspondent. Subhokar Bose. #
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