‘Surrealism’ theme for Durga puja pandal in Kolkata

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, October 7

Spanish avant-garde painter Salvador Dali, known for painting images he got in dreams, was most unlikely to have ever imagined his works inspire the organisers of a Durga puja at a north Kolkata neighbourhood to make “surrealism” the theme for their “pujo” to be held this month.

Jayanta Mitra, secretary of the “Nalin Sarkar Street Sarbojonin Durgotsav 2018”, says they have chosen “surrealism” because such a theme will impress visitors.

“Our budget is small (Rs 25 lakh, which is considered small compared to other puja committees whose budget may go up to Rs 1 crore or more). However, there is competition among the committees and we don’t want to lag behind. So, we focus on unique themes,” Mitra says.

Last year, the theme of the Nalin Sarkar Street puja was physically challenged children and how the goddess visited the home where these special children were staying. The concept got them the “Asian Paints Sharad Samman” award given to the best pujas in the city.

“The Asian Paints award is similar to what the Oscars are for a movie,” says Mitra.

This time, the puja organisers are banking on “surrealism” to bag yet another award. Preparations are on at the marquee (where the idol will be kept) for setting up the interior in accordance with the surrealist school of art.

It is no surprise that the floor of the structure is strewn with old dysfunctional wall clocks of various shapes and sizes. The clocks will be used for decoration. Clocks have important function in the paintings of Salvador Dali — the most famous of all surrealist painters. In Dali’s works, clocks are seen melting and sometimes even being eaten up by ants.

Other things one can see at the site include wooden figures of numbers, hundreds of empty first-aid boxes, black-and-white paintings, a huge chillum made of thousands of earthen chillum used for smoking cannabis, and so on. This bizarre collection of items will be juxtaposed to convey a meaning.

Explaining the idea, Avijit Ghathak, the Indian College of Arts and Craftsmanship alumnus who is in charge of giving shape to the project, says that minds of people now are obsessed with consumerism. “However, in the subconscious, people may not feel comfortable with the abject surrender to consumerism. That is where surrealism, which deals with exploring the subconscious, becomes relevant,” he says.