A handful of idols and installations that stood out this Puja will find a permanent place at Alipore Jail Museum.
The Durga idols of Chaltabagan Sarbojonin and Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club and installations from Salt Lake FD Block and Chetla Agrani have already reached the museum that has been set up in what was once the Alipore jail.
Made of clay with an antique brass look, the Chaltabagan idol is 13ft high.
“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was so impressed by our idol at the Red Road carnival (on Friday) that she told us at the spot to send the idol to the museum. We are ever grateful to her,” said Mausam Mukherjee, an organiser.
The idol at Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club was also taken to the museum after the carnival. The idol was nothing like the usual goddess.
About 15ft in height, she looked like a figure of defiance and a deity of the masses.
“I had no plans of making the idol this year and was in talks with a Kumartuli idol-maker. But the events in Manipur rattled me. I have no words to describe what happened there or what I felt. I just knew I had to create an idol. My creation is my response,” Bhabatosh Sutar, artist and Puja theme-maker, had told The Telegraph.
An organiser of the puja at Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club said they were informed about the idol’s slot at the museum by a team of Biswa Bangla, which visited the pandal during the Puja.
Installations inspired by Dokra art — where handmade figures of metal are created by artisans using bare hands — were the central theme at the Puja pandal at the FD Park in Salt Lake.
The pandal showcased a village-like setting adorned by figures of horses inspired by Dokra art that stood like sentinels on two sides of the village.
Banibrata Banerjee, one of the key organisers of the FD Block Durga Puja, said that more than 200 artisans put together the pandal. Like in other years, they harped on a traditional Durga idol.
“We have already sent a portion of our installation to the museum and it will be put together by Tuesday by our labourers there,” said Banerjee.
A senior Hidco official said these installation arts from the Durga Puja pandals across the city will be kept on display for public viewing at Alipore Jail Museum.
Hidco is in charge of running the museum.
According to the official, the installations have arrived not only at the jail museum but also the Mother’s Wax Museum in New Town and the Durga museum at Rabindra Sarobar.
“These installations are handpicked by the chief minister based on their artistry and they will be preserved at these three places. All of them will be open for public viewing. The idea is to preserve public art forms as well as to ensure that people can take a look at them even after the Puja," the official said.
