Cyclone Aila ‘passes through’ Sonarpur pandal

In a step ahead of most Puja organisers in Kolkata,a Puja committee at Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas has attempted to recreate the havoc caused by Cyclone Aila. What makes the 11 Pally Puja in Sonarpur stand out is the effort the members of the Puja committee have put in to creatively portray the disaster-hit hamlets — all without the help of a decorator or labourer.

The impressive design that will be on show during the Pujas is the result of perseverant work of 120 members of the 11 Pally Unnayan Samiti,who have been toiling since June. “The very idea of recreating the trail of death and destruction that Cyclone Aila brought in its wake as a Puja theme dawned upon us after we suffered personally in the cyclone. The roof of our club was blown away in the fierce gale and since then our club has been roofless. We visited the Aila-ravaged areas several times and distributed relief there,said Gautam Das,who conceived the idea of adopting Aila as the theme for the Puja pandal.

For recreating the post-Aila effect,the Puja organisers have made use of a local football ground. Nearly three-feet-deep trenches were dug and filled with water,pumped out from four nearby ponds. Uprooted trees,broken huts and damaged boats navigating through the trenches — the organisers have taken care of the finest details while constructing their look-alike village. A small pandal has been erected with a shamiana where an ‘ek-chala’ idol will be worshipped.

“We are using whatever is left post-Aila to construct a thing of beauty and welcome the Goddess with renewed hope. It is an attempt to resurrect life from the ravages of nature. We will request all visitors to contribute whatever they can for the victims of Aila,” said Das.

The vice-president of the club,Shyamal Ghosh,said: “We are trying to portray how Aila-hit villagers will celebrate this festive season amid the large-scale devastation.”