Durga Puja 2020: Kolkata celebrates a low-key Ashtami

Under normal circumstances, Ashtami, the eighth day of the Durga Puja festival, is considered the peak of the festivity mood, when the celebrations and excitement reach a crescendo.

But these are not normal circumstances, and that is why Ashtami in Kolkata was a pale shadow of its earlier versions. Such has been the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ashtami is the day when Bengalis perform the Anjali (a form of worshipping the Goddess). People flock to the pandals early in the morning, and perform the Anjali together, evoking a sense of unity and homely togetherness. That is followed by a pompous afternoon feast with the Sondhi Pujo performed in the evening, accompanied by the traditional dhunuchi nach. This time, the frenzy has faded because of the pandemic.

Read: Durga Puja in 1930s: When theatre, music, chess contest played out in Patna

Anjali was performed digitally this year, with people sitting in front of the television where channels were telecasting the ritual live from different pandals. Some puja committees took on the responsibility of showing the programme live via various live-streaming apps. The priests were the lone worshippers at the pandals, with people repeating the shlokas after them. The feast was abolished, and the Sondhi Pujo lacked the usual glitter with a lack of participants for the dhunuchi nach.

But, people did come out onto the streets to celebrate the occasion. The age-old Pujo of Shovabazar Rajbari saw a decent number of visitors throughout the day, and Suruchi Sangha, a famous puja in Kolkata, frequently witnessed small crowds coming to the pandal. Other pujas like the Mudiali Club and Sreebhumi Sporting Club also saw an increase in the crowd size as compared to the previous days.

Even the devotees flocked the pandals in relatively larger numbers, much to the delight of the puja organisers. The Covid-19 guideline, however, was seldom followed. Even though the majority of the people wore masks because of the strict vigilance of Kolkata Police, social distancing rule was flouted in several places with people jostling for a view of the pandals and the idols.