Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, masks have become a part and parcel of everyday life. Now it seems that they will become a part of Bengal’s biggest annual festival, the Durga Puja.
Because several major Durga Puja organisers in the state are considering putting a mask on the face of the Durga idol to raise public awareness.
The organisers Gauri Bari Sarbojanin Durga Puja in North Kolkata have decided that to put a silver mask on the face of the Durga idol. It weighs about 41 grams and will be put on the face of the Durga idol on Monday. According to the organisers, despite repeated advice from health experts and government, a large section of people are still not wearing masks.
“Hopefully good sense will prevail among the people when they see a mask on Devi Durga’s face,” said Manta Mishra, one of the organisers of the puja which will complete 87 years this time.
Several centuries-old family Durga Pujas are also considering to introduce the 'new normal' into their pujas. Organisers of a 160-year-old family puja in North Kolkata have also decided to put a mask on the face of the Durga idol and have placed an order for it to a jewellery maker.
Debashish Kumar, one of the organisers of a big-ticket Durga Puja Tridhara Sammilani in South Kolkata is not averse to this idea. “ Some worship Durga as the goddess. But to those who worship her as a daughter will want to keep her safe from the infection by putting a mask on her face,” he said.
However, some other big pujas are not very keen on it. “ We don't want to put any impression of a pandemic on the face of the Durga idol. So there is no question of putting a mask on it,” said Subrata Mukherjee, senior Minister and organiser of the Ekdalia Evergreen Durga Puja in South Kolkata.