Durga idol inside Cambridge University museum
The museum staff call her “The Cambridge Goddess”. “Since one of our idols is already being preserved by the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, we feel the need to do something similar in this milestone year,” said Nandan Sengupta, one of the Puja organisers who also teaches management at the university. What a relief it was for us,” said Sengupta.
KOLKATA: Did you know that a Durga idol has been preserved at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, for nearly a decade? The idol was worshipped at the community Durga Puja organised by the Indian Cultural Society (ICS), Cambridge, till it found a permanent home at the Cambridge University museum. ICS is an association largely comprising Bengalis teaching or studying at Cambridge. As ICS enters its 25th year of Durga Puja celebrations, the organisers are trying to collaborate with Cambridge University on another conservation project involving their idol. “The University of Cambridge, which has seven museums, agreed to keep the idol eternally as a heritage icon.
“It makes sense to collaborate with Cambridge University to do something, apart from preserving our protima (idol), that evokes interest among people from all over the world who come to study or teach in Cambridge about Durga Puja, aligning with the Unesco recognition. In our 25th year, we are reminiscing about our journey and achievements that we could be proud of and pass on to the next generation so they can continue maintaining their heritage and culture,” Sengupta aded. Apart from donating the idol to an upcoming or newly formed Durga Puja committee, another remote option was to approach Cambridge University to check if it would be interested in displaying the idol as part of heritage and cultural preservation.