It is the season of festival in West Bengal and there’s pandemonium among the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ministers to bring Didi aka Mamata Banerjee to inaugurate their high profile Durga Puja.
Mamata, not in the habit of turning down any such invitation, especially when it concerns Durga Puja, has got into the act of inauguration a week early, before Mahalaya, the auspicious ceremony which ushers in the Devi paksha or the festive season.
Getting Mamata to light the lamp, crack the coconut, unveil the Durga idol or even applying the finishing brush strokes on the clay image is one thing but getting to hear her appreciate the whole ambience of puja, the decor of the pandals and winning the best theme puja is another thing.
So the heavy weight Trinamool Congress leaders such as PWD Minister Arup Biswas, higher education minister Partha Chatterjee, municipal affairs and urban development minister Firhad Hakim and panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee in their in-house competition to get close to Mamata and win her hearts are leaving no stones unturned to convert the puja pandals into virtual Mamata shows.
While Arup Biswas’ Suruchi Sangha Puja has Mamata’s oft-quoted words, lines of her poems, lyrics of songs, composed by her and works of art plastered all over the place, Partha Chatterjee has created a separate pavilion, highlighting a very rare collection of Mamata’s photographs with Mother Teresa and Mahasweta Devi. There’s even a picture showing Mahasweta Devi trying to break Mamata’s hunger strike with a glass of juice. Arup’s Suruchi Sangha has created the ambience of Bhutan with stupas and Buddha frescos. But, why Bhutan? Pat comes the answer: Mamata has loved every bit of the country and she wants to build bridges with Bhutan through exchange of trade and transport.
Another club in Bhowanipore, which has Trinamool Congress state president Subrata Bakshi as its patron, has chosen Mamata’s political struggle as the theme of decoration. Mamata is being depicted as the epitome of woman power and the slayer of demons, in other words the communists. Jostling with the ministers is a group of MLAs and councillors, who also want Mamata to touch base. Mamata’s presence will not only value add to their respective puja committees but it will also be a pointer as to how close they are to Didi.
Mamata is loving every bit of adulation and has gone to laud puja organisation committees for upholding the theme of Biswa Bangla and heritage of art, crafts and architecture of Bengal.
“She believes that the puja pandals which draw several lakhs of pandal hoppers every day will be a good promotion platform to launch Bengal and its lost glory,” said a Trinamool Congress leader.