KOLKATA: After a year’s gap due to Covid restrictions, educational institutes opened their gates for Saraswati Puja darshan on Saturday. Now that the 15-17 age group has started getting vaccinated, youngsters were more confident, and, clad in festive attire, made the most of this festival.
Keith, a physics student, said, “Since 2019, I have taken on the responsibility of reciting mantras for our home puja. It felt nice to be able to hold a bigger gathering this year.”
Research scholar at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology Supratim Sarkar expressed how glad he was to see so many of his former classmates. “Most of my colleagues were decked up in yellow sarees and punjabis. After work, I, too, dressed up, got my camera and went to meet old friends in College Street, near our college and hostel campuses. A lot of people are in an especially celebratory mood because they missed this opportunity last year and they were missing the tradition of getting dressed, attending the puja and hanging out with friends,” he said.
Prithu Haldar, a former student of English at Jadavpur University, said Saraswati Puja has changing implications for Kolkata’s youths.
“We often consider Saraswati Puja synonymous with Bengali Valentine’s Day, but historically, Saraswati Puja strictly symbolized the celebration of knowledge and was commemorated in pathshalas. I believe liberalisation in the 1990s and the following wave of commercialism inspired by Westernization helped cement a romantic angle to Saraswati Puja, especially as it is often celebrated about a week before Valentine’s Day. Nowadays, because of Covid, most couples are forced to be in long-distance relationships and celebrate by delivering gifts and cards. As a result, the typical hot spots for couples on Saraswati Puja in Kolkata were frequented by large groups of friends this year,” he said.
A pensioner living in Kasba shared his surprise to witness such large-scale celebrations this year. “I usually spend this time of year with my daughter’s family in Delhi. I did not expect to see such a large community puja with so many attendees. I am glad that youngsters are enjoying it with partners and friends, but I hope everybody remembers to wear masks,” he said.
