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| Now News Network || 12th October 2018 || Kolkata || The Indian Express |
This year’s Durga Puja seems to be breaking
new ground in various ways. From sindoor khela being open to all – not just
married women — one puja committee has decided to dedicate this year’s theme to
the struggle of sex workers.
In the streets leading up to the Ahiritola
Jubakbrinda Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata, city dwellers are stopping by
to appreciate a large artwork on the street. But it’s not the colourful
paintings that are striking a chord, it’s the subject.
The 300-foot-long graffiti captures the
hardships and the circumstances that force a woman to enter the profession.
With the theme Utsarito Alo, they are addressing not only the inclusion of
these sex workers but also trying to give them the respect and dignity they
deserve. “Durga Puja is about social mingling and celebrations by all,
including sex workers. With this graffiti, we are pledging to return their
basic rights to live in society, keeping their head high just like others,”
Debarjoon Kar, curator of the project told indianexpress.com.
The work has been created by eight artists.
“Streets have always been a place for protests, be it political or social, so
we thought why not use these same streets to tell their story and demand the
rights of the sex workers,” Kar added.
And it’s not just the artwork on the street,
the entire premise have been dedicated to these women who are often forced to
exist on the margins of society. From props used inside the sanctum, hand-made
posters demanding rights for them, to art installations depicting the everyday
life of these women, the pandal captures it all.
“Through time, our orthodox society has
neglected the community of sex workers. We fail to realise that they are also
someone’s mother, someone’s sister. They also have a family that should get the
right to live a life with love and dignity, instead of facing torture and
hatred from people,” said Uttam Saha, working president of Ahiritola
Jubakbrinda.
The puja committee’s work has overwhelmed the
workers in Kolkata’s Sonagachi — Asia’s largest red light district and home to
over 10,000 sex workers. Members of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC),
an NGO which closely works with sex workers were invited to unveil the project
and paint the artwork. “We are very happy with their initiative and it feels
great to be the focus of a puja,” Kajol Bose, secretary of DMSC told
indianexpress.com over phone.
Bose added, “We are done being on the margins.
Till a few years ago, it might have been true that we were shunned from the
puja festivities, but not any longer. Now, not only do we host our own puja,
but also people invite us to pandals, make us judges of puja competitions, ask
us to participate in sindoor khela and many more activities surrounding the
festival. All I can say is, we are moving forward and finally, we are getting
results for all that we have been fighting for.”
What was restricted to just soil from a
brothel – an essential component for the making of Durga idols as an inclusion
– has truly transcended into something more concrete and impactful.
#It'sWhereYouLive
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| www.indianexpress.com |
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