Kolkata: Chorebagan Sarbojonin Durgotsab Samity on Wednesday evening performed khuti puja 2.0, a ceremonial foundation ritual marking the start of Durga Puja preparations, less than a month after holding the first one, in what several puja organisers in Kolkata said was an unprecedented occurrence for a community puja.The second khuti puja was attended by Guddu Maharaj, a mahant from Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. Organisers said the ceremony became necessary after a new artist came on board and a new committee assumed charge of the puja in recent days.“We have a new artist who will be designing our Durga Puja for the first time. Over the past few days, a new committee has been formed, which is why we organised a second khuti puja. Vijay Ojha (MLA from Jorasanko) is our chairperson,” said Raj Kumar Sewda, secretary of the puja committee.A senior member of Forum for Durgotsab, the umbrella body of Durga Puja organisers in the city, said they were not aware of any Durga Puja having organised two khuti pujas in the same year.The puja, which is celebrating its 91st year, had earlier performed its first khuti puja on July 5 under the previous committee. On that occasion, the organisers had unveiled a wall painting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing aarti to Goddess Durga.The organisers said the second ritual was intended to formally mark the beginning of work under the new committee and the new artistic team, while retaining the puja’s long-standing tradition of devotion. Meena Devi Purohit, former deputy mayor of Kolkata and councillor of Ward 22, was also present. “I am happy to be here. This is a very famous Durga Puja, and I am confident it will do even better this year,” said Purohit.Artist Sushanta Pal, who is working on the puja for the first time, said he hoped to create an experience that visitors would remember. “This is my first time working with Chorebagan Sarbojonin Durgotsab Samity. I will give it my best, and I invite everyone to visit on Mahalaya to see what we have created,” said Pal.The second khuti puja comes against the backdrop of recent developments involving the former organisers. Last week, Kolkata Municipal Corporation served a notice for the demolition of an alleged illegal structure associated with the club. The committee had appealed to the civic authorities to retain the structure, arguing that it played an important role in crowd management during the annual festival, but the request was turned down.“There may have been certain irregularities in the past, but the new committee will ensure that everything is carried out in accordance with the rules and regulations,” said Sewda.
