Like in Varanasi, Ganga Arati to begin in Kolkata from March 2

The ‘Ganga Arati’, like in Varanasi, will commence in Kolkata on Thursday, on a ghat along the Hooghly river. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the programme, an official communique has stated.

City mayor and senior Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim went to the ghat on Wednesday to take a look at the preparations. A temple, and arrangements for performing arati, have been made at the ghat. Sources add that the arati is expected to take place for around 45 minutes, every day.

During her visit to Uttar Pradesh last year to campaign for Samajwadi Party during the assembly elections, the chief minister attended an arati at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi, which also happens to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.

In November last year, the chief minister had expressed her intent to have Ganga Arati in Kolkata, along the Hooghly river, a tributary of the Ganges, as it takes place at various places in Uttar Pradesh.

Such an opportunity was not available here, she had said, and had wanted a suitable venue to be explored. The responsibility was given to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the body that’s headed by Hakim.

While the state government has been eagerly encouraging, and at times supporting the celebration of festivals in the state, the introduction of arati has also been observed in a different context. The Trinamool, in its earlier years after coming to power, was keen on developing Kolkata on the lines of London city.

With a keen interest in Ganga arati, the pull seems to be of Varanasi, where the BJP, a political opponent, not only has the seat but a constituency represented by the prime minister. Observers read this parallel as a sign of Trinamool’s national ambitions.