Durga Puja 2020 Image: Women in Masks Click Selfie with Ma Durga in Pandal in Bengal
Durga Puja it’s only a week away and Navratri starts on Saturday. Images of Durga Puja and Navratri preparations from around the country give an idea of what two of India’s biggest festivals will look like in a pandemic year and what people are planning to do. Every year in the weeks between Navratri, Diwali and Bhai Dooj, Indians celebrate practically every day. People visit friends and family, go shopping, and of course exchange gifts. In the midst of the Covid pandemic, experts are asking everyone to stay home so that the infection does not spread quickly. Navratri and Durga Puja gatherings are an intrinsic part of celebrations when it is very difficult to maintain social distance.
Durga Puja 2020 Image: Children Visit Navratri and Durga Puja Pandal in Mumbai
Durga Puja 2020 Image: A ‘Crown Warrior’ in PPE Disinfects a Community Pandal Puja in Kolkata
With the increase in footfalls in the run-up to Durga Puja, in Kolkata and other parts of the country, mall authorities are trying to take safety measures, including disinfecting elevators and handrails. “We are careful with the security protocols from the reopening of our mall and diligently follow the guidelines. We will allow up to 50 percent of our standard capacity of around 50,000 people,” said the director of the Acropolis mall in Kolkata, K Vijayan to the PTI news agency. .
Durga Puja 2020 Image: People Shopping Before Durga Puja in Kolkata
Durga Puja in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal is famous for flamboyant pandals. The organizers are in a race to outdo each other. From replicas of famous architectural structures to eco-friendly structures and unconventional designs, some of the pandals are spectacular. In the year of the pandemic, here is a ‘coronavirus’ pandal in the South Dinajpur district of West Bengal.
Durga Puja 2020 image: A pandal that looks like ‘coronavirus’ in southern Dinajpur, West Bengal
In Kolkata’s Kumartuli, the traditional center where idols of Goddess Durga are made, artists are busy putting the finishing touches. Greatness is lacking in decorations, idols are smaller, and demand is significantly lower, but artists are still hopeful.
Durga Puja 2020 Image: An artist puts the finishing touches on Durga in Kolkata’s Kumartuli
Durga Puja 2020 Image: An Artist Draws the Eyes of Goddess Durga in Birbhum, West Bengal
Durga Puja 2020 Image: An idol of Goddess Durga ready to be brought to the pandal in Nadia, West Bengal
Traditionally during Durga Puja, new movies hit theaters in West Bengal and special puja songs are released. This year, in a unique move, a collection of still images of Satyajit Ray’s “Sonar Kella” will be published in the fall issue of “Sandesh”, a children’s magazine. Ray’s son Sandip Ray told the PTI news agency that the rare photos were taken in 1973 during the filming of “Sonar Kella,” where the legendary Soumitra Chatterjee immortalized Feluda.
Durga Puja 2020 Image: A still from ” Sonar Kella ‘by Satyajit Ray. Soumitra Chatterjee plays Feluda
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that cultural programs will be allowed in the state with up to 150 people during Durga Puja. Events must be held in open spaces, he said.
Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking instructions to halt Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal in light of the pandemic, the ANI news agency reported. According to the statement, the COVID-19 situation in the state is the same as in Kerala after Onam.
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