Less than 2 months to go for Bengal’s biggest festival Durga Puja and in this situation, a local Durga puja committee has taken an initiative to create awareness among everyone. A Durga idol with a 20-gram gold face mask was unveiled in Kolkata’s Baguiati locality to create COVID awareness in the city.
Aswininagar Bandhumahal Club. decided to decorate the idol with a gold mask, syringe, thermal gun, and other medical equipment. Swarup Nag, a committee member said, “When the devotees will visit the puja pandal on the occasion of Durga Puja in time of two months, they will get to see the idol of Goddess Durga wearing a gold mask, while holding a thermal gun, syringe, and other medical supplies in her hands.”
The Durga Puja committee administration has become the talk of the town and people are lauding the initiative.
In 2020, when migrant workers were forced to return to home, Kolkata’s Behala Barisha club showcased an idol of Goddess Durga as a migrant mother. The theme and the photo went viral on social media. The club decided to commemorate the migrant laborers who walked barefoot to their villages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Calcutta High Court issued an injunction preventing anyone from attending the Puja pandals.
Image Credits: Tirthankar Das and Sashi Ghosh.