Five days of feast, millions of festivities, thousands of Leds and nearly 5,000 ephemeral buildings… suddenly all evaporated, swallowed by the waves or recycled. This is the particularity of Durga puja, a Hindu celebration held in West Bengal (northeast India) every year at the end of October. A unique opportunity to discover the elegant Calcutta and the gentle living of its region.
Of ephemeral temples
According to Hindu belief, mother Durga would descend from the Himalayas to the Bengal plains at the end of October. Temporary temples - called pandals - are drawn up throughout the region for a whole week. Born of a religious tradition, the celebration of Durga puja is now a huge contemporary art festival. To take advantage of this, it is better to ask for the services of a driver and guide, who will find for you the best pandals. We can also live this party by strolling through his desires. Leds have been used to decorate the streets of a thousand colors!
Durga puja is the perfect time to discover the old-fashioned charm of Calcutta and West Bengal, visit Darjeeling's tea plantations or confront tigers in the Sundarbans. Famous for Mother Teresa's actions, Calcutta has many other tourist attractions to offer: Victoria Memorial, Marble Palace, Birla Planetarium, Indian Museum, Spices Market, Howrah Bridge, etc.
Living it together: leitmotif
For Durga puja, every neighborhood or village has been represented by a committee for 105 years, when 12 friends decided to wear this religious festival on the streets. Together with an artist, each club is responsible for the execution of the giant work that will host the statue of the goddess. In recent years, these pandals have delivered progressive messages. More than 6 months are needed for their design.
No matter what the night fare is, we take advantage of the days to arouse Calcutta. Visiting the capital of Bengal during Durga puja gives access to all aspects of the celebration: since the visit of Kumartuli, the pottery district, to the rituals of aristocratic family of Sovabazar Rajbari. At Dawn House, for example, at the oldest weapons dealer in the world, gunshots are fired on the last day of the festivities to accompany the departure of statues. And to fill the small troughs, the desserts of Calcutta are the best in India. Rasgulla, gulab jamun and other mishti doi will not help you keep the line…
A transgendered Durga
This year, we saw for the first time in the history of the festival a transgendered Durga made by the brave artist China Pal, supported by the Pratyay Gender Trust association. In India, Calcutta is the fief of hijras, transgenerates who are sometimes forced to prostitute or beg by threatening passers-by to bring the wrong eye and show their genital parts. Some schooners were even bought at birth by a mafia and subjected to force treatment to enrich the villains.
Other pandals have been devoted to women's empowerment or to the fight against child infanticide. In India, to avoid abortions, it is prohibited to disclose the sex of the child. In the most remote areas, girls are therefore still eliminated at birth by the mothers-in-law who put salt on their lips to dehydrate them.
A pandal anti-GM!
The 2015 edition was also marked by a centerpiece against gmos, proof that the population, affected by the lack of food, is against genetically modified organisms.
Ten giant aluminum foil animals have sat in a 200 m 2 pandal. Coq-dinosaur and other elephant-rhinoceros were inspired by the poems of a Bengali writer. These science monsters illustrate the excesses of agri-food production. The artist Subroto Banerjee and the Tala Baorwari club are calling for the government to affix a pastille to distinguish genetically modified foods, as is already the case in India for non-vegetarian food.
Towards the End of an Ecological Paradox
Tradition requires statues to be immersed in the Ganges so that goddess Durga can return to his source, in the mountains. Strongly criticized by environmental associations, this practice cannot be abolished, but commendable efforts have been made to prevent the pollution of the Ganges. Signs «Keep Calcutta Green» have grown like mushrooms in the city. This year, only one small portion of the river was condemned and statues and debris of pandals were immediately recovered by a crane to be assembled and recycled.
To enjoy the immersions of statues on the last day, nothing better than to opt for a cruise on the Ganges. Impressive to see!
A religious festival and avant-garde festival, Durga puja is a good entry for the best of India. It will also seduce the «madness of India» with its unusual character.
Smart News
When is it? One week every year in mid-October.
Go there. By plane to Kolkata.
Useful. West Bengal Tourism Board
Specialized Agency: Meghdutam Travels
