Kolkata: This pandal says menstruation is normal, not a taboo. Period!

“Maa Durga symbolises women’s empowerment and it is high time that we address the issue of menstruation. On one hand, girls are not allowed to sleep in beds, enter the kitchen during their period and are treated as untouchables, and on the other hand, there are women who face social taunts for not having periods. We believe that there is no better way to get rid of this problem than addressing it. It is about time that we stop looking at menstruation as a taboo,” says Ellora Saha, the secretary of the puja committee.

Maa Durga symbolises women empowerment and it is high time that we address the issue of menstruation. We believe that there is no better way to get rid of the taboo associated with it than addressing it.” said Ellora Saha secretary, Pathurighata Pancher Pally puja committee.(Express Photos by Partha Paul)

This is Pathurighata Pancher Pally’s 84th year of inception. The puja committee had chosen the issue earlier in the year, and launched its banner on May 28 – the International Menstrual Hygiene Day.
“We are not focusing much on the religious part. We are talking about health hygiene, social taboo and stigma surrounding menstruation, which is a normal biological process. We do not talk openly about it yet. When lakhs of people will visit the pandal and see it, this will create an awareness that menstruation is a very normal process,” adds Shah, who is also a councillor of ward number 24 of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

With only a week to go before the Puja, the artisans are busy giving the final touches to the pandal.
Manash Roy, the main artist of the pandal, has used props like paper, red colour, cotton etc to augment the theme.

“Menstruation is as natural as passing stool or urine, but there is so much of social taboo surrounding it. We have to fight this social taboo. The menstrual cycle is what your body goes through to get ready for pregnancy… motherhood is near to divinity. But women are silently bearing the weight of the tradition that needs to change. Social awareness is the only way we can bring the change,” says Roy.

The pandal will have a traditional Durga idol, about 14 feet high, with the idols of Kartikey and Ganesha standing beside her. However, the idol of Saraswati and Lakshmi will be placed a bit away from the Durga idol. “This is being done to highlight how during their periods, girls and women are not allowed to step inside a temple. So Lord Kartikey and Ganesha, representing male gods, are placed close to Durga, while Saraswati and Maa Lakshmi, representing the girls, are placed away from Maa Durga,” Roy adds.

Besides the puja, the organisers will also hold an awareness camp on menstruation where sanitary napkins will be distributed to girls and women entering the pandal.