Chetla Agrani Club, Kolkata
Kali Puja
The Kali puja of our club started in the year 1959. From then onwards the club has been celebrating kalipuja in a grand way. The 25th year silver jubilee celebration was at the peak of glory. But finally from the year 1994 till date the members of Agrani have shifted to the concept of theme puja.
In 1994 a glorious temple was curved which brought high appreciation of the visitors, followed by the theme of '51 peeth' of Parvati in the next year. That time the pandal was constructed on the replica of temples of various places like Midnapore, Birbhum, Bankura and so on. The rest of the groung was used to be transformed into gardens with plants, garden umbrellas and seating arrangements.
But eventually from the year 2001, the highly reputed theme puja started covering the while ground.
1. The theme puja commenced with the portrayal of the destruction by the earthquake in Bhuj. The hteme was a major success and the club decided to go on with the theme for the coming years too.
2. The following year in 2002 a fort of Rajasthan was created. The entire ground was transformed into a desert with actual sands brought in to give a live effect. A camel was also placed so that the essence of Rajasthan could be felt.
3. A highly curious theme which followed the next year, i.e., in 2003 was the set of the very famous film "Sholay". The setup was the mountain den of the villainous dacoit "Gabbar". It was a commercial touch given to the thematic expression.
4. In 2004 the greatest news of India was the death of the bandit Virappan, which led Agrani to create theme o the forest of Virappan, making the whole ground look like a forest. This very faous Kalipuja was inaugurated by the then Indian skipper SAURAV GANGULY.
5. In 2005 Agrani sketched out the scenario of the coastal areas destroyed by the massive turbulent Tsunami.
6. The little boy named Prince who miraculously got saved even after falling 50 ft down the ground caught the eye of Agrani as the theme of their Kalipuja for the year 2006.
7. The very important news which caught the eye of almost all the people was the death of Rizwanur Rehman. Up till this time Agrani projected issues like natural calamities but in 2007 Agrani was bold enough to put up such a theme based on such a serious social issue. Visitors not only came to see the pandal but arrangements were also done to appeal for the justice of Rizwanur by lighting up candles. Rizwanur's family took a great part in making this effort successful.
8. Out of such serious issues in 2008, Agrani decided to give special importance to the children and make an unusual theme with mountains and demons. Big monsters were sculpted and high mountains were raised to attract the children.
Address: www.chetlaagraniclub.com
