he problem is: are the means becoming more important than the end? Somewhere along the line, is the spiritual aspect falling by the wayside? Nabarun Dutta, a veteran member of a North Kolkata puja committee, says Durga Puja was never only about spiritualism.
"The social aspect of the festival has always been extremely important, and what we are seeing today is merely an extension of that fact," he says. "A television manufacturer, for example, knows that the average Kolkatan will probably wait for the pujas to buy a new TV, so naturally advertising will be at its peak at this time."
Others argue that theme pujas and the amount of work they generate help feed thousands of mouths every year. "There are some craftsmen and artisans who wait all year for the pujas to arrive because this is when they earn more than the rest of the year taken together," says Barun Mukherjee. "The new trends in pandal decoration and idol-making have opened numerous alternative employment opportunities for traditional craftsmen as well."
So the debate will go on. However, going by the millions that throng the theme pujas, they, at any rate, are not complaining.
Image: Visitors at a Kolkata pandal built as a replica of the Indian Parliament and the Akshardham Temple, the places of previous terrorist activities
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