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Santipara decked up for centenary puja

By Staff Correspondent

DIBRUGARH, Sept 20 � Creativity and uniqueness has always conquered organisers� mind while planning the structure for puja marquees or puja welcome gates in the city. Originality becomes imperative for the organisers particularly when preparing for a solemn celebration of an historic epoch like the centenary.

People of Santipara, a densely Bengali speaking populated area here, are also making efforts to give their puja venue an elegant and stunning look as they mark hundred years of Durga Puja celebrations. The puja organised at the precincts of Disharee Club, to the side of the second lane of Santipara is annually organised by Santipara Sarbojonin Durga Puja Committee.

The puja committee preparing for the centenary celebration is headed by two dynamic women- Nirupama Sonar and Subhra Bhattacharjee. Sonar is the president while Bhattacharjee is the general secretary of the puja committee. �The two women of the locality are admired and respected by the people for their dynamism. They have been working overtime to ensure grand centenary celebrations,� according to Manash Chaudhury, one of the office bearers.

Subhra Bhattacharjee said they begun preparing for the centenary puja celebration after a general meeting of the people of the area in November 24, 2013. �As part of the centenary celebration we have also been organising various programmes like mass distribution of greetings cards, cultural programmes, Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti, birth anniversary of Dr Bhupen Hazarika and several other activities. An inter-school quiz, extempore and debate competition sponsored by ONGC, Nazira, was also conducted by Disharee Club as part of the celebration,� she said.

The committee is putting up a unique puja marquee in the form of a corporate building like design with skyscrapers. �Puja revelers will see electronic figures of spiderman crawling in an ascending and descending order as they gaze at the skyscrappers,� Manash Chaudhury said. The interior of the marquee is basically being designed with bamboos. At least twenty five skilled men hired from Chandannagar (Kolkata), are engaged in erecting the puja pandal resembling corporate building, since the beginning of August.

Five clay artisans from Krishnanagar (Kolkata), who are engaged in making the idols of Goddess Durga and other deities at the puja mandap itself, have also come up with brilliant works. These artisans and other skilled workers have been camping at the puja venue since the beginning of August.

Entire Santipara locality, like any other area, is getting decked up lavishly. Works for vibrant illuminations along the streets in the locality are also undertaken. Gorgeous gates resembling famous Eiffel Towers on both entrance points of the second lane of Santipara are also coming up.

Ashok Saha, treasurer of the committee said that people of the area, cutting across religious lines were donating voluntarily towards making the centenary celebration a memorable one. �Every household in the locality including tenants were extending financial assistance for the celebration. The people have shown interest in our plans and designs for the celebrations. We welcome all to be part of our centenary puja celebration,� he said.

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