Durga goes green for her Ahmedabad devotees

Amdavad will witness a grand celebration of Durga Puja by the Bengali population of the city at various pandals from October 1. Various mandals and associations have installed colourful and attractive idols of Goddess Durga and lined up various cultural activities for the six day celebration.

Among the interesting concepts for the celebration by city-based associations, the Chandkheda Bengal Cultural Association (CBCA plans to celebrate with the theme of 'Green Puja'. Various activities and events have been planned in this regard in accordance with the theme.

Speaking to DNA, secretary of CBCA, Ajoy Das said, "This is the first time that we have thought of having an eco-friendly idol. The idol is completely made from lead-free paints. Also, the stage where the idol will be kept and the entire pandal for the puja will have greenery indicating the theme." Sharing more information, Das said that various activities like plantation of saplings, using paper and eco-friendly materials for decoration etc have been planned in this regard. Talking about the need of having such idol, Das said that looking at the present environment conditions, eco friendly idol has been prepared.

The association has especially called artisans from Kolkata to make the idol which took around three months to be completed.

During the six days of Durga Puja, the association will have various activities like cultural performance every evening for the six days and Durga mela (fun fair) where the women from Bengali community will serve traditional Bengali delicacies.

While on one hand, CBCA has green celebrations on the anvil, the Bengal Cultural Asociation (BCA) will have grand celebrations in different manner. General Secretary of Bengal Cultural Association (Ahmedabad), KD Adhikari said, "We are planning a huge mandal in Vastrapur area of the city at the AES ground. We will also have cultural programme of folk dances like 'Chou' performed by tribal dancers. Also some renowned singers from West Bengal will be coming to perform here. We have also invited a troupe of famous Calcutta Puppet Theatre (CPT) and a dance troupe from Bangladesh for the dance drama."