WITH DAYS left for Durga Puja celebrations to begin, artisans and workers are hard at work at the Naktala Udayan Sangha’s pandal, one of the most high-profile pujas in Kolkata. But this year, there’s none of the usual buzz — there are no press conferences, no photographs of celebrities and TV stars smiling down from banners and no theme song. At least not yet. The lack of enthusiasm isn’t without reason: the puja is associated with former state Cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee, who is now under arrest in the teacher recruitment scam. The ‘brand ambassador’ of the Naktala puja committee last year, Arpita Mukherjee, is now a co-accused with Chatterjee in the case. With this year’s puja being held in the long shadow of the events of the last few months — that have seen leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress battle a string of corruption charges — the festival committees, which usually function through a mix of patronage and politics, have set off on a low-key start. While a cabinet minister (Chatterjee) and a party heavyweight (Anubrata Mondal) are under arrest over corruption charges, a number of Trinamool leaders, from national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to Cabinet ministers Moloy Ghatak and Firhad Hakim are under the glare of central investigation agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. “We are facing a severe crisis in getting corporate advertising this year. The dilemma for the sponsor is that if they associate themselves with us, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will harass them after the pujas. We have a budget of around Rs 70 lakh, but this year, we are struggling with the sponsorships,” said a person who has for long been associated with the Naktala committee, which has Partha Chatterjee as patron. While the launch of the Natkala committee's theme is a much-publicised event every year, this year, the organisers have decided to continue their theme from last year. “Last year, our theme was the Partition of Bengal. This year, we will continue with that theme and showcase 'mota kapor' - how the refugee women who came from East Bengal used their embroidery and stitching skills to work on coarse garments (mota kapor),” said Pradip Das, the artist of the Naktala puja committee. The organisers are, however, putting on a brave face, taking great pains to disassociate themselves from their political patrons. Gopal Ghosh, working president of the Naktala committee, said, “My father Basudev Ghosh and his elder brother Tapan Ghosh started this puja. Later, former minister Kshiti Goswami (RSP) got associated with this puja. Partha Chatterjee came in after that. We have over 500 active members who organise this puja every year, but Kshiti da's or Partha da’s name stuck on only because they were ministers.” “Our puja will have the same glamour and grandeur as every year. It's just that we have campaigned less this time. That just adds to the build-up because now people are wondering what our theme will be,” he added. Organisers of the Chetla Agrani pandal, commonly known as “Bobby dar pujo” (Bobby, as Firhad Hakim is referred to), claimed that their puja will not lack the fervour of previous years. However, they too insist that Hakim is heading the committee “only in name”. “Bobby da is now very busy as mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation and hardly gets involved. His presence is only in name,” said Samir Ghosh, convenor of the Chetla Agrani puja. Hakim, who was arrested in the Narada case last year, is out on bail. Another heavyweight leader and puja organiser is Aroop Biswas. According to a senior TMC leader, “Aroop, in fact, became a leader through his Suruchi Sangha puja. Over the last decade, Suruchi Sangha had turned corporate with brand promotion, theme songs and other things. But this year, they haven't done all this.” Sandipan Mitra, a resident of Rashbehari, the Kolkata locality where the Suruchi puja is held, said, "Usually, Suruchi Sangha starts its campaign a month ahead of the pujas. This is the first year after Covid restrictions were removed. Besides, this year, the puja has got UNESCO recognition. So, we thought the pujas will be grander than ever, but that hasn't happened yet." However, a committee member of the Suruchi puja insisted that all's well. "Like every year, this year too we will set up a grand pandal and put up decorations on September 25, on the day of Mahalaya. We plan to use songs whose lyrics and music have been composed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself," he said. The organisers of Tala Pratyay, a puja committee associated with minister Indranil Sen, too, are attempting to distance themselves from their patron. “Indranil da used to come to our puja but he is not the organiser of Tala Pratyay. Indranil da never participated actively. Local councillor Tarun Saha is in our committee but he too has no major contribution to the puja,” said Suvajit Sharma, one of organisers. Bijay Das, one of the organisers of Sikdarbagan puja, a committee that's associated with Atin Ghosh, Deputy Mayor of Kolkata, said, “Atin da is in our committee. But, he has nothing to do with this puja. The other committee members are the ones who collect sponsors and plan the theme.” On their part, the Trinamool leaders insist that they aren't pulling back. Hakim said, "Everybody knows I am associated with Chetla Agrani. This year, too, I will be there throughout the puja." Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox Kolkata Deputy Mayor Ghosh said, “I have been associated with the pujas from my college days. So there's no question of distancing myself. It's true that I haven't been able to spare enough time to organise the puja but obviously, I will be present in the pandal." BJP leaders, however, point to the absence of heavyweight Trinamool leaders in this year's puja. Sajal Ghosh, BJP leader and the main organiser of the Santosh Mitra Square Durga Puja, said, “They are all hiding this year. But we have nothing to hide. Our puja accounts are always transparent.” Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said, "There's no doubt that after Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondol's arrest, TMC leaders are hesitant about going all out with their Durga pujas.”
