For weeks I was meeting Kolkatans who bragged about their coming festival, the Durga Puja. “The city doesn’t sleep.” They told me. “There is dancing in the streets… it’s Kolkata’s biggest festival, its this city’s true culture…” And on and on. The first night I saw very little action. The next day I trekked a little farther and visited some pandals, which are temporary temples that house the Durga goddess. They were impressive, to say the least, in size and ornamentation. I was surprised they could make the space for these massive temples, with Kolkata already having people living in every crack and cranny. And there were hundreds of these pandals, the largest sites having thousands of people queued up to get a chance to walk through. The crowds themselves were a striking sight, most noticeably, the women in their festive saris. Such colours, sparkling with silver and gold, are nice hanging in the storefronts, but surprisingly wonderful gliding under the street lights. After wandering to a few dozen sites I was tired. As I climbed into the bus at two am, I was impressed by pandals and tireless crowds that were roaming the streets, but it wasn’t the “party!” I’d been hearing the locals talk about.
Then came Thursday. I’d heard they were going to throw all the statues in the river, and wondered suspiciously, “all of them?” There had to be a million. When I had finished filming a classic Bengali musical in the park I walked back towards the restaurants, desperately needing to eat. The sun was just dipping below the horizon, and flatbed trucks crammed full of cheering people and large Durgas were charging off into its Western haze, towards the river. I ate and rested for a few minutes, and reloaded everything in my camera bag. I had an idea to get into the action quickly. I walked to a busy intersection where the trucks accumulated at a red light, ran up behind the nearest one, and jumped on the back. I was quickly pulled in and accepted by the excited crowd.
I had never been to a party like this. From the truck, to the streets, to the river. Drumming, dancing, carrying the statues to the river, and throwing them in. It was madness, and next to the riverside photographing, unstoppably exhilarating. One after another, they brought the statues down. Imagine thirty men underneath a twenty-five foot idol. It is tied to bamboo logs and standing straight up. They carry it down a flight of concrete steps, around a corner, down another set of stairs, then untie the ropes and push it into the water. I lasted a few hours at the river’s edge, dodging screaming men and ducking under moving Durgas, then I made my way back through the dancing crowds, and finally to a taxi. The next afternoon I returned to a different river bank and it was starting all over again, and again it would go all night. Yesterday they dropped over 10,000 in the river. So, Kolkata, you said this was going to be a big festival, and you exceeded my expectations. (Photos: Durga Puja)