Artisans prepare for Durga Puja amid dhak rolls, scent of shiuli

The roll of dhak and chants of mantras will soon reverberate through the air as Durga Puja celebrations will commence from October 20. The scent of shiuli (night-blooming jasmine) is already wafting along by the breeze, while workers have started binding bamboos together to build puja pandals in several pockets of Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR).

- Ashna Butani

Durga Puja pandals are the epitome of amalgamation of visual delights and highlights of contemporary issues. They serve as platforms to convey social messages, which may range from politics to religion, science to entertainment and history to art. This year proves to be no exception.

After Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon on August 23, the Durga Puja committee in Gurugram's Sector 56 decided they would pay a homage to the scientists through their creativity, said Sabyasachi Ghosh, the general secretary of Bangiya Parishad, Gurugram.

"A model of the spacecraft will be erected in the main temple. We are in the process of giving it the final touch. It was a landmark achievement in the history of our scientific journey. So, we decided to depict it in our pandal."

He added that the committee will also raise a toast to women power this year. Dhak, which is traditionally played by men, will be played by four women dhakis, who have been invited from the Malda district of West Bengal.