Medics sit behind an idol as they conduct a hunger strike against what they say are inadequate facilities and security for doctors while condemning the rape and murder of a trainee medic at a government-run hospital, in Kolkata, India, October 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
There are two Kolkatas existing parallel to each other, this Durga Puja. One, which is living upto its city-in-celebration image. In this world, there are thousands queuing up to check out pandal recreations of underwater metro, Tirupati temple and Las Vegas sphere. The whistles of the traffic volunteers is the constant background score and the air is heavy with the smell of egg rolls and fish fry. And then, there is the other Kolkata, characterised by the settled anger of protesting doctors in Dharmatalla, the nerve centre of the city. A Kolkata of torch rallies, RG Kar slogans and barricades.
At times, the two Kolkatas collide. Like the incident where nine youths were arrested for, “We want justice” slogans regarding the RG Kar rape-murder incident outside a Durga Puja pandals. Or the pandal in central Kolkata, which had the RG Kar incident as its theme (the idols were hiding their faces in shame). Those are disconcerting moments
This is a puja online which any other, most Kolkata residents will attest. In the month after the horrific RG Kar rape and murder incident, the idea of any kind of celebration seemed far-fetched for many. Kolkata had turned into a city of barricades then. There were midnight rallies every day, the usually buzzing shopping districts were like ghost towns and utsobe-phirbo-na (we will not return to festivities) was a slogan on every lip. For that is the biggest ask from an average Kolkatan, to not partake in the festivities that seem to now define Kolkata for most outsiders (like rosogolla and the city’s poor work culture). It was a solemn promise that we seemed to have made to ourselves. To not surrender to the festivities. A defiant stand against CM Mamata Banerjee’s gentle chiding after weeks of protests. “Utsobe Phire Ashun (return to festivities)!”she had stated at a public meeting.
But can you really keep Bengalis away from Pujo? The temptation is overwhelming. Just one new kurta, just one bite of chicken roll, just that one pandal to check out, and before you know, it’s a spiral. You are pulling an all-nighter, sampling pujo buffets and curating your Sashti, Saptami looks. It’s so easy to give in.
I did. After an evening of pandal hopping in my jamdani kurta (where I marvelled at a pandal made of jamdani sarees), I got a call from another journalist friend. “Aren’t you going to the doctor’s protest site?’, she asked. “I have already been there”, I lied. I felt oddly guilty for no logical reason at all. I decided to make amends and visit the other Kolkata. Dharmatala, where the junior doctors are staging a fast-unto-death protest, demanding justice for the rape victim. Recently, one of the fasting doctors had to be hospitalised because his kidney has been affected by more than 90 hours of fasting. The crowd of ordinary citizens here is no different from those at a pandal really. But the mood is distinctly different. It is easy to slip into righteous indignation here. Like 76-year-old Biswanath Bhattacharya, who has been visiting the site for the past two days. “Pujas will come and go, we need to stand for our rights. How can people celebrate Durga Puja now?” He asks. Guilty.
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First uploaded on: 12-10-2024 at 11:00 IST
