Durga Puja has turned out to be more of a social festival. The preparation required to make it successful depends entirely on the contributions from all the sections of the society. Bangalinet has brought forward these important people who are behind the glory of the festival.

MEN GATHERING RIVERBED SILT 
Fine riverbed silt is required for the final coating of the idol of Goddess Durga. Always in great demand during the Pujas, it is very difficult to amass this fine silt required for the silken effect on the idol. Labourers like Subash Mandal, swim underwater in the Hoogly River in the early hours to gather basketful of silt from the riverbed. A cart is then loaded with this clay and sent to the idol makers to apply the finishing coat to the idols. Subhash Mandal resident of Bagbajar, gears up for the Puja season just after the monsoon. He says, “Puja for me is gathering cartloads of clay and earning Rs.90 to Rs.100 per cart. Financially it is a good time for us but fever and skin diseases are something we have to combat.”

MEN BEHIND THE PANDALS
Sankar Sarkar fondly known as “Masterda”, leads the Mahishbathan Gramin Hastashilpa Samabaya of North Dinajpur. A team of ten skilled men has come to Kolkata to decorate the city-based pandals. They specialize in handicrafts made of wood, jute and bamboo. Talking to Bangalinet, Masterda said, “This year quite a few Puja committees have invited us to decorate their pandals with works of jute, bamboo and wood. Durga Puja for us is the time for financial benefit and for all the villages as well as the cooperative engaged in making handicrafts. We pray to the Goddess though our work.”

IDOL MAKER
Idol maker Kartik Pal and Sons has been in business for three generations. A very respectable name in the idol making community of Kumartuli, now the company is headed by Naba and Vikram Pal, but under the vigilant eyes of their father, who though is old, is always ready to who though is old, is always ready to add the finishing touches to the idol. Kartik Pal has been making idols since 1950’s, when Durga Puja was mostly a home affair. Now, he finds things have changed a lot along with time. Talking to Bangalinet, he said, “ We try to mould the shape of mother as we think she should look like. It gives us a power. We forget our day-to-day miseries and find solace through our work. Financially, this is the most lucrative period for us. This season is the one we wait for throughout the year. This year (2001) we have made a 4 ft. idol of fiber weighing 7 kgs. for Manchester, U.K. ”

THE LIGHT DECORATORS
The glittering lights that grace the Puja Mandaps are the creation of some handful of artists of Chandannagar. Adept at this form of art these artists are always on the lookout of eventful occurrence in the national or international arena throughout the year. Known for their powerful artistic expression through lights they are in great demand through out the country. During Durga Puja, almost the entire city is adorned with the lighting works of Chandannagar. Paresh Pal one of the artists said to Bangalinet, “We start work from the month of March and we earn around 20,000 to 40,000 yearly. Besides, it being a financially beneficial part of the year,we have other means of livelihood for the rest of the year. Durga Puja is the time to rejoice and our joy is reflected through the glittering lights of the city.

PUROHIT
Gobinda Chakraborty, the Kulpurohit of the family of Sabarno Roychowdhuri avails from Mohishadal in Midnapur. Trained in Sanskrit and vedas from an early age, he assisted his father in performing puja. Three years hence, he has taken over from his father and performs puja, maintaining the austerities. Bangalinet had an interesting chat with him on the eve of Durga Puja. Purohit Chakraborty follows the Durga Bhakti Tarangini method to perform the Puja maintaining the 398-year-old tradition. Durga Bhakti Tarangini is composed by Kabi Vidyapati of Mithila. He says, "The puja atmosphere and methods remain same in the Roychowdhury household as was in the beginning. The tithis are strictly and rigorously followed missing out nothing. Durga Puja for me is a packed up schedule. Moreover it is the time for worshipping the Mother Goddess.”

FLOWERS FOR THE GODDESS
Jagannath Ghat different from other wholesale markets is distinct because of the fragrance of varieties of flowers. The Haraparboti Flower Decorators is one of the biggest wholesalers of flowers. Proprietor Sukumar Mondol, handling the 70-year-old family business for the past 35 years finds the present situation comfortable and is excited as well because of the arrival of the “Devi-paksha”. “Yes, I am definitely going to enjoy the festival like others, but what excites me is the fact that our sale will go up by leaps and bounds”. He approximates the value of his daily sales figure (Year 2001) to be around Rs. 200-250. But during the five days of the puja alone, he estimates a sale of Rs. 8000-10,000 per day. The man from Dewulia, Midnapore now eagerly waits for Durga puja. “This is the biggest opportunity we get every year and we must not miss the chance”. “Lotus sells the most and we make bundles of one hundred and eight lotuses which sells at around Rs.150-200 per bundle”, says Sukumar who also supplies other essentials such as garlands of marigold, hibiscus, rajanigandha, aparajita and bel leaves as well as other flowers.