A Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, West Bengal, is paying special tribute to migrant workers with a statue depicting the Goddess as a migrant mother with her children. According to Telegraph India, the Barisha Club Durga Puja committee in Behala, Kolkata, has decided to install the statue to highlight the plight of migrant workers who were left without work and forced to walk hundreds of kilometers home when the country entered a coronavirus. . induced blockage earlier this year.
The statue shows a sari-clad mother with her son Kartik on her hip. Behind the statue of the mother are her two daughters. According to News 18, one of them, representing the goddess Lakshmi, will have an owl in her arms. The other will be seen with a duck. A fourth idol with the head of an elephant will be a symbol of Lord Ganesha.
Together, the mother and her children will be seen walking towards a smaller, more traditional image of Ma Durga: a halo with 10 hands.
Ma Durga from Pallab Bhowmick for the Pujo this year, as a migrant worker with her children.
Very evocative. pic.twitter.com/aAlJVI9XKO– Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 16, 2020
Rintu Das, the artist behind the sculptures that have gone viral on social media, told Telegraph India that the migrant mother is representative of a goddess.
“The goddess is the woman who braved the scorching sun, hunger and misery along with her children. She is looking for food, water and some relief,” said Das, a graduate of the Government School of Arts and Crafts.
“During the confinement, all I remember seeing on television and reading in the newspapers was migrant workers returning home on foot … Durga Puja was still months away, but the indomitable spirit of the walking women I was overwhelmed at home with children. They embodied the goddess. “
The sudden announcement of the nationwide lockdown in March forced millions of migrant workers to return home on foot. Heartbreaking footage showed migrant workers walking miles in the sun while carrying their children and all their belongings.
As the country continues to fight the coronavirus, Barisha Club has said on Facebook that this year, people will be able to enjoy Durga Puja digitally.
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