Durga Puja is over, but does that mean festivities, pandal hopping, and hoi hoi hoi are over? Oh no, not at all, at least for Bengal...because it's Kalipuja time. And Salt Lake, Sector III's GC Block is gearing up to be the showstopper this year with their 30 feet Maa Kali idol, standing atop a 25 feet Shiva idol.
Notably, this is one of the tallest idols in Kolkata, and the tallest in the Salt Lake township. Previously, it was Balaka's (BD Block) 15ft pandal North Kolkata's Pathuriaghata Boro Kali stands somewhere around 19ft, and Naihati's iconic Boro Ma somewhere around 24ft. Even the legendary Baro Ma of Naihati is 22ft in height.
Salt Lake’s 30-foot statue leads the township, but West Bengal has seen even taller idols: The 85-foot idol in Asansol's Kulti, the 83-foot one at Barrackpore's Battle Sporting Club, and Malda's 55-foot Shobhanagar Ulka Kali.
What makes it so big and grand this year, we asked? "This is our 28th year of Kali Puja, and for the last 4-5 years we have been planning to do something big for our puja. It has been since August that the idol-making has been going on at the park itself, since such a huge idol can't be moved around," informs Jishnu Gupta, Executive committee member, GC Block Association.
The idol, because of both its height and weight, could not possibly be set up on the ground itself. Thus, idol maker Raja Pal, along with the committee members, put it on an RCC (reinforced cement concrete) foundation, which is a structural base that combines the high compressive strength of concrete with the tensile strength of steel reinforcement bars. The rest of the idol is made the traditional way, with a wooden kathamo (structure), khor (straw) and clay.
As we visited the park on Sunday, November 1, the colouring work is almost done, and a gold-ornamented red saree is being draped on the goddess. The idol will be fully ready in a few days, to be inaugurated on November 6.
But after the Chorebagan mishap, security and safety concerns are surely on everyone's minds, especially since such a huge idol has already grabbed a lot of eyeballs. Secretary Sujoy Saha informed us that barricading in and around the ground is already done. The entire planning and execution are being done as suggested by the authorities- Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, police, and fire department- and we are strictly following the directive sent by them to avoid any unfortunate, unprecedented mishap.
Along involvement of 150 families of the block, two days of cultural programmes, and celebrating over bhog, the immersion plans of the Puja too sounds interesting. A small idol, which will basically be worshipped, will be immersed. The bigger idol will be dismantled on the ground itself, and the authorities will take care of the waste removal. On the 10th, when the immersion is planned, a representational sprinkling of water on the idol will be done, before a Chinese Lion dance group, a team of Female dhaakis from Purulia, and 50 dancers take over the ground to perform. Chinese Lion dance during Kali Puja, you ask? Well, it is just to make a Chinese resident and committee member of the GC block, Donald Liao, and his family feel included.
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