1. In Theme Jungle, One For Kids And Kipling
The magic of Mowgli's world is coming alive in a pocket of north Calcutta that puts children at the heart of its Durga Puja celebration.
Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, Kaa, Raksha, and the regal but notorious Sher Khan will be celebrating Puja together in a fantasy jungle that has taken root in a nondescript lane of Chitpore, one of the city's older neighbourhoods, but no longer a happening place.
The organisers of the Machua Bazar Sarbajanik Durga Puja Samity had decided on the Jungle Book theme sometime in February.
The concept, which eventually took shape in a Tollygunge studio, is both a tribute to Rudyard Kipling and an acknowledgement that what fascinates children on the Puja trail is not glitz, but something closer to the world of their imagination.
" Many families plan to go pandal-hopping through the night. But on most occasions, after visiting one or two pandals, the children get bored and either fall asleep or start nagging their parents to go back home.
We wanted to have a theme puja that would attract and interest children," said Shankar Srivastava, the convener of the organising committee.
Models of Mowgli and Bagheera greet visitors at this popular puja on Madan Mohan Burman Street. A 300 ft banyan starts almost at the entrance and extends till the main structure that houses the idol. King Louie's mansion, filled with monkeys, adds to the Jungle Book experience.
Much of the materials used are natural, including hay. The stone mansion inside the main structure is made of thermocol.
Source: The Telegraph
2. Handicraft Store Govt's Puja Gift For Transgender People
The Bengal government has an ideal gift for the transgender community this Durga Puja. Sneho Nir, a store exhibiting and selling products made by the community, will be opened on Gokhale Road near Rabindra Sadan on 26 September.
Under the state project, handicraft items, junk jewellery and other homemade products will be on display. Ranjita Sinha, a community activist and member of the transgender board has provided the space for the store.
There are several transgender self-help groups across the state, under which members are engaged into making handicraft products. Since the community did not have a permanent place to showcase their wares, marketing these products in an organised way was a challenge.
People from the community are upbeat about the project and feel this will be a platform for them not only to showcase their artistic talents, but also as a means of steady income.
“We are happy and hopeful that the project will be a success. It should also help narrow the distance between transgender people and the rest of the society,“ Sinha said.
The self-help groups had started assembling their products more than two weeks ago. Once the flagship store gains acceptance and popularity , there are plans to sell the products online as well. Later on, Sneho Nir will also venture into running a kitchen from where home delivery services will be available.
“We hope the Bengal government will also organise handicraft-making workshops for the community on a regular basis. We also expect the government to help us tie up with various corporate offices so that this project is taken up to another level as part of their CSR activities,.“ added Sinha.
Source: The Times Of India
3. Take a Break From Pandal Visits And Enjoy A Walk Through Ray's Para
Pandal-hoppers who drop by at Mudiali and Shib Mandir off Rabindra Sarobar in the afternoons will get something extra. An advertising executive and philanthropist who lives in the locality has lined up a free heritage walk through Lake Temple Road, which has been home to eminent personalities like Satyajit Ray and Hemanta Mukherjee.
Ray had lived here during the most prolific decade in his career. Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee then moved into the house Ray vacated when he moved to Bishop Lefroy Road in 1970. Actor-director Debaki Bose, and industrialist Bhagirath Kanoria, were others who lived in this para sandwiched between Southern Avenue and Sarat Chatterjee Avenue.
The walk – between 3.30 pm and 5 pm – will be held on Shaptami, Ashtami and Nabami, and will start from Menoka Cinema and traverse through the locality . Mudar Patherya, the resident storyteller, has put together nuggets on people who have lived there, their properties and the local Puja to share with those who join the walk.
“I was inspired by similar walks in Venice, Florence, Istanbul and other cities where people take as much pride in neighbourhoods as they do in monuments. Iftekhar Ahsan has been conducting Calcutta Walks for tourists. So I thought, why not my own neighbourhood that houses a famous Puja? Lakhs visit it during Durga Puja, but don't get to know about the locality,“ he said.
Source: The Times Of India
4. Strict Security Measures For Immersion In Two Rivers Of Basirhat
The West Bengal government and the Border Security Force (BSF) have taken special precautions for the idol immersion at Kalindi and Ichamati, the two India-Bangladesh border rivers in the Basirhat sub-division in 2017.
The measures are keeping in mind the recent riots in Basirhat and adjoining areas. Communal violence broke out from Baduria over a controversial Facebook post. Later it spread to Basirhat town and adjoining areas, and the BSF had to pressed in to control the situation.
“We are closely coordinating with the BSF, Bangladesh Government and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) to enforce strict security in the border area during immersions. The immersion takes place in the river that both countries share. Special security arrangements and immersion restrictions are in place to prevent any untoward incident”, said a senior state government official.
Puja organisers from both West Bengal and Bangladesh opt for Kalindi river at Hinganganj and Ichamati river at Taki. Therefore, the close coordination will help maintain law and order and thwart any infiltration bid during the immersion.
Source: The Indian Express
5. Hill Door Ajar As Fear Lurks
Fear of bandh supporters prevented Darjeeling's traders from opening their shops at 9 am, as declared on Sunday.
It was partly fear, of police, that prompted them to start the day's business around 11am when the cops began banging on the shutters. Fear caused them to close down by 3 pm.
Nineteen trader organisations had on Sunday announced they would, from Monday, defy the now 102-day-old bandh, called to demand a Gorkhaland state. But a hint of fear was palpable in their declaration that all the shops would open at 9 am " at one go", so that none had to individually bell the cat.
But news arrived early on Monday morning that a taxi had been torched at Lebong at 5 am. By 9 am, most of the shopkeepers were at Chowk Bazar, the heart of the town, with keys in their hands and the Lebong news on their minds. None dared to be the first to pull up his shutters.
The police, out in strength to instil confidence, made repeated assurances of full security over loudhailers but to no avail.
District magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta arrived soon and urged the crowd of waiting shopkeepers to rise above fear.
" This is your right ( to open if you want)…. We all have to earn our livelihood. You decide what is best for you. You are not indulging in violence; only running your business. What's there to fear?" she said.
Source: The Telegraph
6. Mukul Fires ‘Bachcha’ Barb At Partha
Trinamul Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy on Monday refused to attach much importance to party secretary general Partha Chatterjee's remarks that he was being "watched".
Asked by journalists on the sidelines of a Puja inauguration about Chatterjee's comment, Roy said: "O bachcha chele, ki bollo ashe jai na (he is a child, it does not matter what he said). Importance should not be attached to it." Referring to "reports" of Roy "meeting BJP leaders", Chatterjee had said on Friday: "The party has certainly not told him to meet these people. These meetings are in his personal capacity and only he can say why he is meeting BJP leaders."
“Those who stay in touch with the BJP cannot be well-wishers of Trinamul. The party has zero tolerance on such actions. We are closely watching him. If he is found to be crossing limits, the party will speak to him," he had said.
Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh had on Sunday described Roy as a leader of "great stature" and claimed that he was in contact with several central BJP members.
Source: The Telegraph
7. 255-year-old Great Banyan Hasn't Stopped Growing
The oldest citizen of the city – the 255-year-old Great Banyan at the Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur – is, well, greater than ever before. In fact, the garden's grand old crowd puller has increased its girth by a massive two acres in a little over 30 years, forcing its caregivers to create a larger boundary railing to hold it in.
In 1985, when a fence was installed around the tree, it covered an area of three acres. Today, 32 years later, so many prop roots have grown all around that the total area covered is five acres. So, a new fence had to be put around the energetic senior citizen. This new fencing has just been completed, though senior scientists in charge of the tree's health are not sure how long this, too, will be relevant. The Botanical Survey of India, which is the guardian of the garden, has already nicknamed the Great Banyan `The Walking Tree'.
The Guinness World Records mentions the Great Banyan as one that has the largest canopy and covers the widest circumference.
The garden authorities have decided to write to the Guinness authorities about the tree's latest feat, too. Now, the Great Banyan has over 4,000 prop roots that is keeping it alive, a wonder in itself, since the main trunk was lost to fungal infection way back in 1925. At the centre of the core area of the tree is an installation in memory of the lost trunk.
The tree is `walking' towards the East, following the direction of the sunlight. “Apart from this eternal truth, you also have to remember that on the western side of the tree is also the boundary of the garden, beside which are residential buildings and a busy road, so the tree has avoided moving towards pollution,“ said MU Sharief, curator of the garden and a senior botanist.
Source: The Times Of India
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)