PANDAL POP

The Badamtala pandal has an ace up its sleeve. It boasts a filmi connection its a brainchild of National Award-winning Bengali film-maker Gautam Ghosh and art director Ujjwal Chakraborty. We have not erected a giant weavers nest here without reason. This is a depiction of nature as the force of good and those opposing it as evil. We are trying to convey the message that human beings are at the centre of the ecological crisis in the world. This is just another example of the flight of creativity that the city witnesses during puja, says Chakraborty.

Flight of creativity it is. In the past few years,there have been pandals made of vinyl records,clay cups,razor blades,matchboxes,balloons and every conceivable thing under the sun. At times its lurid,at times ingenious but never boring. Pop art anyone? Its very difficult to negotiate the fine line between good taste and bad taste. Pandal art in Kolkata is something I as an artist cant really categorise. Can we call it pop art? Why not? After all,pop art removes the material from its context and isolates the object,or combines it with other objects,for contemplation. So do these pandals, says artist Wasim Kapoor,who has headed a number of Puja awards committees.

In 1757,when the first clay and husk Durga idol took shape in Shobhabazar Rajbari to honour the victory of Lord Clive in the battle of Pallasey,it was a marriage of different schools of art. One can distinctly see European influences in the idols. They were interesting specimens of the 18th century Company School of Art an influence of the East India Companyfair complexion,sharp nose. The large eyes reflect Chau traditions, says Chakraborty.
Kamaldip Dhar,a lecturer with Kala Bhavan Shantiniketans art department,feels that Kolkata pujas have also kept alive many folk traditions. Chau masks from Birbhum district of Bengal,embroidery works from the Kutch region of Gujarat and tribal art from Jharkhand often find their way into pandal art.

Every year,months before Puja,thousands of artisans across the country arrive to the city to work in these pandals. They sustain themselves through such assignments for more than half the year. They are encouraged to show their craft in its purest form, says Dhar. He has used artisans from villages of Birbhum to create painted pottery items used in Ayurveda.
The Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha Pandal,for instance,recreates a very kitschy version of a typical Bengal fishing village using saris,fishing nets and baskets. Sixty painters,weavers and potters from Burdwan were camped in the pandal premises for over two months to paint intricate patterns on the walls. We have very little work back home. Such assignments are our bread and butter. Thanks to them we can proudly preserve our art, says Sukanto Dolui,a sari weaver from Burdwan.

Art is a problematic word. While Dolui confidently proclaims his creations as works of art,city-based artist Jayashree Chakravarty grapples with a word to describe Durga Puja in Kolkata. What you see in pandals is not necessarily art. Its a bit too decorous to be called so. They are works of immense beauty of course and a lot of thought goes into them,but my definition of art is somewhat different. It has to be a little more personal for me, says Chakravarty.

For her,community festivals like Durga Puja are celebrations of aesthetics,rather than art. Yet,there is something incredibly enthusing about the creative process,says Chakravarty. I cant stop myself from visiting an incomplete pandal. For me the creative process is so isolated. But there is an incredible buzz about such a pandal. So many people come together to realise one dream. There is an exchange of ideas. The all-consuming passion of such a place overwhelms me, she says.