The pandal being set up for the Baguiati Railway Pukur United Club’s puja
Kolkata: A Durga Puja pandal on Rail Pukur Road near Deshbandhu Nagar in Baguiati is being decorated with recycled newspapers collected from locals. Members of Baguiati Railway Pukur United Club have chosen ‘Collage’ as the theme of their puja in its 73rd year to reflect on different fragments of the society. The art installations inside the pandal will pay homage to luminaries of Bengal, like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Rabindranath Tagore , Swami Vivekananda, Satyendra Nath Bose, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Matangini Hazra and Satyajit Ray while depicting their contributions to the country’s social, cultural and intellectual heritage.
Following the Khuti Puja on Aug 11, club members started collecting old newspapers from locals. The club, founded in 1951, had marked the puja celebrations with the theme ‘Shabdo (sound)’ last year when the pandal was virtually inaugurated by former CM Mamata Banerjee. A 20-ft bird installation was the highlight of the pandal decoration in 2025.
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Newspaper sheets, words, photographs and textures are being integrated to set up the pandal in keeping with the theme, according to club secretary Snehasish Debnath. Debnath said, “We are using newspaper as a nostalgic element in our installations. “As we celebrate our 73rd year, ‘Collage’ is our way of depicting unity in diversity, and reminding ourselves that every individual contribution, however small, becomes meaningful when it comes together with others to create something larger and more enduring,” he said. At the same time, we will also uphold the mythology of Goddess Durga, and the decorations of our pavilion stand as a metaphor for the strength of collective power that She possesses,” said Gaurab Biswas, a member of the club.
Conceptualised by artist Somnath Tamli, the entire pavilion has been created using thousands of kilos of recycled newspapers, transforming an everyday material into an immersive work of art. “Every year, we ponder over new themes for our puja celebrations to make a difference. This time, we decided on the theme of collage, bringing together art, society, memory and the changing nature of communication. Download the TOI App.
Scenes depicting newspapers being loaded in bulk and distributed on cycles recreate the familiar newspaper culture of an earlier era while also reflecting on how digital media has transformed the way people consume and share information today.