Large Kali Idols of Naihati

Zade black in colour, naked, fiery red eyes, blood smeared all over body, long dark hair, tongue licking out, awe-inspiring eyes, wearing skulls of slain demons. This is the familiar face of Goddess Kali who is prayed all over India for strength and power. Goddess Kali symbolises the end of evil and the start of good. When Kali Puja is celebrated in Bengal it outsets Diwali or Deepavali the festival of lights in other parts of India.

Ma Kali has a special significance in Bengal and particularly in Kolkata due to the presence of the famous Kalighat Temple, which is located in Kalighat, South Kolkata on the banks of River Ganga. Around 25,000 big and small Kali Pujas take place in the city of Kolkata alone every year. Although such a large number of Kali Pujas take place in the city of Kolkata, still this puja does not attract that attention from pandal hoppers who throng all pandals during Durga Puja.

But if someone wants to take the real kick of Kali Puja then should head towards Naihati. Naihati is a very important industrial town and an important railway junction station on the Indian Railways network, in the district of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. It is very easy to reach Naihati as it takes only one hour by train from the Sealdah station by train. Then just by taking an auto or rickshaw one can enjoy the charm and revelry that surrounds Kali Puja in Naihati.

The unique thing about Kali Puja in Naihati is its large idols, some measuring around 32 feet. It has also been recorded that the Deul Para Adhibashi Brinda Puja committee of Naihati once made a Kali idol of hoping 31 feet. It was the tallest Kali idols of the country, as well as of Asia that was ever made in Naihati. In 1965 an idol was made of a recorded height of 31 feet. But the civic authority reduced it to 29 feet from 1968.

The whole town gears up for the mood during this time with light and people thronging the magnificent pandals. The pandals are huge to fit the large idols measuring on an average of 25 feet. Truly speaking the Kali idols are not that artistic to look at, but definitely inspire imagination because of its sheer magnitude. Interestingly some idols are so big that four average size person sits on the bulging belly of sleeping Siva and play cards. The Puja committees like Amra Kajan, New Star, No 7 Adhibashi Brinda, United Club and Dishari Club cannot be given a miss at any cost. Amusing it may be, but the fact is these idols are made adjacent to the water bodies like ponds and small lakes in the locality. The reason behind this is that the idols are so huge it is practically impossible to carry them to the River Ganga for immersion. Instead the puja organisers call the fire department, who come and wash the large idols with their hose pipe, spraying water from the adjacent water body.

Ustiwalas: The vanishing profession in Kolkata

With the passage of time everything that we see around us vanishes in the darkness of past. We love to stay in present and dream of a sweet future. Past haunts us, so we prefer to run away from it, ignoring the fact that lot is lost in the process.

Kolkata, or the colonial Calcutta has come a long way from the time it was bought by Job Charnock from the then Zamindars of Bengal and has now transformed into one of the fascinating cities in the world. Once a remote village, then Calcutta slowly became the capital of India holding the hands of British Empire. The Britishers changed it into one of the most important centres of medical, education, cultural and financial hub in India. Every day large number of people from different sections of the society entered Calcutta through the Calcutta Port. It started bustling with lots of activities. Traders from other parts of India and the rest of the World visited Calcutta to explore a new market. Gradually, the city started expanding manifold. New buildings, offices, schools, universities, medical institution and recreational centres were created to keep up with the growing demand.

New professions were also created to keep the city administration run successfully. One such profession was the Kerani babu or Clerk in modern day who were assigned to keep records and look into the accounts of the administration. This is one profession that has survived till now escaping the wrath of time victoriously. The British has left India long ago but the Kerani babus are still dominating the Government offices such Writers Building, New Secretariat and several other key govt. departments.

But there is one profession, which is almost standing on the verge of extinction. They are the Ustiwalas. This is one unique profession about which very few had any idea. At present there are very few Ustiwalas to be found in the whole city. Basically they earn their living by carrying water. They had derived their unique name from the usti or a hand made leather bag that is made from the skin of goat or cow. The leak proof bag look like a long neck pitcher. The bag has a leather handle for carrying on shoulder. The Ustiwalas fill their usti from any street side source of water, preferably hand pump. They then tie the mouth of the usti and carry the water to their customer. These Ustiwalas earn very little, around forty to fifty rupees a day and finds it hard to survive with their family.

But in the colonial Calcutta, these Ustiwalas had a different role to play. They were not appointed to carry drinking water as their usti was made from animal skin. Instead they used to carry water from the Ganga and nearby ponds to clean the roads early in the morning. Large numbers of Ustiwalas were appointed for this job. Generally these people are Muslims who belong from the same family and had a separate community of their own. They mainly lived in the then old Chitpur and in the adjacent localities.

The Ustiwalas should not be mistaken with the typical Bharis (mainly Odiya) of today who carry fresh drinking water from tube well and supply it to household. Nowadays these Ustiwalas can be found in limited areas of Kolkata fighting everyday to feed their family.

In near future there will be an attempt to post an interview along with a relevant picture of an Ustiwala who work in the Mirza Galib Street of Kolkata. Readers will get to know about their lifestyle, their inclination towards their profession and their trembling future from their own mouth.

The writer came to know about this particular profession from a book on old Kolkata written by Srijato who presently works with Anandabazar Patrika, ABP Pvt. Ltd.

Unplanned Durga immerson

After five days of joyous festivity, Goddess Uma or Durga returns to her abode in heaven leaving behind her paternal home on earth. Durga’s coming home ushers in the grand festival of Durga Puja in Bengal and also in other parts of India. Also known as Sharadiya Utsav, this festival starts from Saptami with a holy ritual called Bodhon and ends with Bijoya Dasami when the idol of Ma Durga along with the other idols of her son (Ganesh and Kartik) and daughters (Saraswati and Lakkhi) are immersed in the holy river Ganga as part of the age old Vedic ritual and custom.

Ten to twelve years back there was no issue with the immersion of the clay idol in the river Ganga. But in the recent past, with the voice of the environmentalist gaining ground there has been a huge cry about the pollution of Ganga due to such practice. The environmentalist in this case has a strong reason, which is also scientifically proven. The fact is there are many hazardous chemicals present in the paints that are used in the clay models to enhance their beauty and lustre. These chemicals are very strong and reactive to water. When the clay models are immersed in the water within few minutes the chemicals start mixing with the water and pollute the water.

Ganga being the oldest and one of the most perennial rivers in India has a special significance. Ganga water is daily used by millions of Indians in different ways. Ganga also support large amount of aquatic life. Therefore the pollutions of this river make all these life vulnerable to various kind of disease that can also prove fatal. After lots of debate and argument, the KMC finally stepped in to take few measures to prevent such crisis. According to Fayaz Ahemed Khan, Counselor, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, KMC has arranged for cages on both sides of these ghats. They also have volunteers who will approach those coming for immersion of idols not to throw flowers or other articles or belongings of idols in the water of Ganga.

These measures are showing some results but lot is yet to be done. The KMC and the Durga puja organisers need to sit and chalk out a comprehensive plan how to solve the problem. Most of the responsibility lies with the puja organisers as they need to be more careful with their job. Often the idol makers complain that they are ready to use eco-friendly colours to paint the idols, but that increases the cost of the idol to a great extent, which even the big puja organisers are not ready to pay. This is an unfortunate and callous behaviour on part of the organisers who spend lakhs of rupees on pandal decoration, lighting and cultural program, but is not ready to pay the extra money to save Ganga. KMC on its part also have to be more stringent with their laws and penalties.

Even then this problem will persist. As not all Durga idols are immersed in Ganga and in the Babu, Princep, Bichali ghat etc., instead they are immersed in the several big ponds and lakes to be found across Kolkata and its surrounding suburbs. Many puja organisers reluctantly immerse the idols in such water bodies, which also run the risk of water pollution due to the same hazardous chemicals. Amazingly no one talks about this. It is true that the importance of Ganga in comparison to these small water bodies is immense, but at the same time that fact that these water bodies are also used by many people for bathing, washing clothes, cleaning utensils and even drinking (especially by the section below poverty level) also cannot be ignored.

KMC and the puja organisers also take some pain to think about this issue. This may not concern mass section of the society but definitely the human beings who live and breathe around us.