Durga Puja in Kolkata goes beyond ritualistic formalities. It is a festival that brings people from all walks of life together. For these few days, the city never sleeps, as people queue up in front of pandals that transform ordinary lanes into real life art.
One of such popular pandals of South Kolkata, Tridhara Sammilini has walked the extra mile with live performances inside the pandal this year. A group of performers are performing live aghori dances to various genres of music to enhance the Pujo experience for pandal hoppers.
The Aghoris are a Hindu monastic order comprising Shaivite Sadhus. These groups are largely based in the north Indian state of India, Uttar Pradesh. The aghori dance is a highly energised and spiritual dance that reflect their spiritual practices that are often extreme.
The Tridhara Sammilani pandal offered this unique experience as a group of aghoris, dressed in their customary soot and garlands made of skulls, danced to various music and performed the traditional bhasma dance.
A few clips from the performance were shared on the Puja committee's Instagram account and people had varied reactions. While some appreciated the idea, others did not quite like it.
"Been there in Tridhara yesterday. It was crazy good", commented one pandal visitor on Instagram. "They took the theme way too seriously", commented another.
Some people believed that such a performance should not have happened in a Durga Puja pandal. "What Is this nonsense going on in the name of Pujo? Is this a performance? Who are these artists? Or is their any significance behind this act? If it does, then does that significance match with the mood of Sharodiyo Durgapuja?", said one user.
Some commentators also pointed out poor crowd control further worsened due to the performance which many visitors couldn't watch.
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