Kolkata: The Durga Puja festival, which has already been cut down to three days from its usual four this year due to overlapping of days as per the Hindu calendar, is now being threatened by the rain gods.
The incessant rain over the weekend due to low pressure formed over the Bay of Bengal has threatened festival preparations as artisans and organisers are rushing for cover and praying for a weather miracle.
The meteorological department couldn’t offer much relief to the millions of Bengalis who look forward to the three days of fun and frolic — they have forecasted rain for the next 48 hours.
“The rains will continue for some time and there is a huge possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall during the three days of the festival as a new cloud formation is being seen,” G.C. Debnath, director of the meteorological department, said.
Artisans at Kumartoli, the largest hub of clay modellers in West Bengal, where they make the statue of goddess Durga, are a worried lot as a large number of idols are yet to be finished. “Though the basic structure is ready, painting is far from over,” and if it rains it will take longer to dry paint, delaying the whole process, said Sujit Pal, an artisan.
There are some revellers who aren’t worried about paint drying in time. The Jodhpur Park community puja will have a digitally sculpted Durga and family with the application of 3D-printing technology on paper. The idol is 8.5-feet tall and 14-feet wide.
“This is a computer-aided design and manufacturing process. We are trying to teach the traditional craftsmen this skill and gradually switch to digital work,” Ujjal Mitra, director of Printz Worldwide, the brainchild of the project said.
Creators of puja pandals (temporary or permanent structures used in religious ceremonies) in Kolkata say the rains will not only it will hamper their preparations, but people will be unable to see the work of art they painstakingly create after months of hard work.
“It’s all about creativity and trying to visualise the goddess in various forms where art meets spirituality,” said Sanatan Dinda, a well-known sculptor.