In Kolkata, poetry and art from Gaza and Bengal famine converge in Durga Puja pandal

Among the theme-based Durga Pujas creating ripples among pandal hoppers and art lovers in Kolkata this year is Behala Friends Durga Puja, which highlighted the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Gaza as their theme this year, and juxtaposed it to the widespread starvation and death witnessed in the Bengal famine of 1943.

“While we have not seen the Bengal famine ourselves, we have come across horrifying accounts through oral recollections of our elders, and through writings from that era. When I embarked on this project, I realised that the man-made famine which was inflicted by colonial powers in Bengal is now being witnessed by the world in the Gaza genocide” artist Pradip Das told The Hindu.

Behala Friends Durga Puja depicts the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Gaza, alongside the 1943 famine in Bengal as their theme for 2025.
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI

Mr. Das, an alumni of the Government College of Art and Craft and Rabindra Bharati University, was the primary artist who conceived of and designed the theme, pandal and idol at Behala Friends Durga Puja this year. 

The theme of the puja has been titled ‘Nabanna’ after the title of a 1944 play by playwright Bijan Bhattacharya on the Bengal famine. 

Mr. Das said that while working on the project, he had reached out to photographer Seamus Murphy who had worked in West Asia, and Raeda Ghazaleh who is based in Jerusalem.

“Raeda recited poetry by her friend, Naama Hassan, who along with his family was in the Gaza Strip. When I read the translated poem, I found parallels with the stories of hunger and death depicted in Bengali poetry written on the famine. There is a connection, even though West Bengal and Gaza are 5,000 kilometres away and the crises are 82 years apart,” Mr Das said. 

Behala Friends Durga Puja depicts the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Gaza, alongside the 1943 famine in Bengal as their theme for 2025.
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI

Raeda’s poetry recitation is part of the multi-layered soundscape in the Durga Puja pandal. With that, several visual elements came together to direct the audience towards the collective imagery of the two space-time planes. At the entrance, visitors pass through an arch that resembles a human rib cage. Bangla and Gazan poetry are inscribed on the walls, along with artistic depictions of bullets and guns. The walls near the idol were scratched to depict scenes from the British occupation of India. 

“In place of the ten-handed form of the goddess, we put up a sculpture of a dishevelled and distressed woman to depict the women who bear the brunt of the aftermath of war and humanitarian crises. It is as though the goddess herself is begging for food. On her side, there are subtle representations of Durga’s sons and daughters, as well as her lion to keep elements of Mahisasurmardini,” Mr, Das explained.

Behala Friends Durga Puja depicts the ongoing humanitarian crisis at Gaza, alongside the 1943 famine in Bengal as their theme for 2025.
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI

The Behala Friends Durga Puja also received significant traction across social media platforms where reels and images of the pandal went viral. The organisers as well as the artist said they are overwhelmed with the positive response from pandal hoppers.

Srinjoy Saha, a member of the organising committee, said that the artist was given complete freedom to explore the theme of the puja, and that they are very pleased with how the pandal turned out as a narrative and artistic experience.

“Various kinds of people are visiting the pandal and every one is taking away different interpretations from it. The people have embraced our work. I can think of creating something like this only in Kolkata,” Mr Das said.