Durga Puja, Ramlila organisers in Delhi reel from bruising Covid punch

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) last week allowed Durga Puja celebrations this year but with several riders — organisers will have to ensure venues do not have visitors beyond the seating capacity, and there can be no stalls of any kind

Durga Puja and Ramlila organisers in Delhi are battling a severe cash crunch, even as they prepare to set up festivities in sync with the state’s norms for celebrations, which were issued last week. To exacerbate matters, organisers said, the changes wrought by the advent of Covid-19 will leave the industry reeling for a few years at least, and are likely to leave an irreversible impact on public celebrations of two of the Capital’s biggest festivals.

An artisan at work on a Durga idol at CR Park in south Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The changes, organisers said, could range from reduced sponsorships, to fewer people at the food stalls due to a heightened sense of hygiene, and an overall reduction in repeat visitors.

Mrinal Kanti Biswas, general secretary of the Purbanchal Bangiyo Samiti, an umbrella body of 38 Durga Puja committees in east Delhi, said sponsorships and donations have reduced by about 70%.

“It will take at least two to three years to recover. Sponsorship for Durga Puja committees in Delhi used to come from small, medium and micro industries, which have been hit badly by the pandemic. Our dedicated sponsors have never been big companies or industries. So, funds are really tight. Before the pandemic, our budget to organise Durga Puja used to be at least ₹35 lakh. This year, we are doing it within ₹5-6 lakh, not just because it’s a low-key affair, but also because donations and sponsorship have dried up. Why will a company give us money if they are running into losses? Some of them have even closed down,” he said.

Even donations have taken a major hit. Before Covid-19, individuals used to donate up to ₹20,000, which now has come down to a maximum of ₹5,000. “This trend is likely to continue for a few years, and even then we will only see an incremental increase. People have either lost their jobs or faced salary cuts, so there’s nothing that we can do about it,” said a member of Kali Bari puja committee.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) last week allowed Durga Puja celebrations this year but with several riders — organisers will have to ensure venues do not have visitors beyond the seating capacity, and there can be no stalls of any kind.

Arjun Kumar, secretary of the Luv Kush Ramlila Committee, which organises the Ramlila on the Red Fort grounds, said such events may no longer be the same as, before people’s priorities have changed.

“People have become more health conscious now. Many have either reduced or stopped eating street food and going to extremely crowded areas,” he said.

Robin Bose, general secretary of the Durga Puja committee in Kashmere Gate, said pandals used to be hubs for friendship and “adda”.

“A majority of the Bengalis would come to the pandal on each day of the Pujo only for the adda. But people are now more comfortable within the confines of their homes. They have gotten used to it,” he said.

Bose also said that the magnitude of celebrations will also be scaled down, due to a sharp drop in sponsorships. He said they are spending from the committee’s funds, since there have been no sponsorships.

“There used to be cultural performances each day, all day long. All that may reduce as it entails a lot of prize money or sponsorship items,” he said.

Ravi Jain of Shri Dharmik Leela Committee, recalled how Ramlilas, used to be a meeting point for families to fix marriages.

“The families would meet and let the man and woman spend some time in the fair. This gradually changed and Ramlilas became an event where parents would bring their children to give them an insight about the story of Ram and Sita. Now, they just Google it. So, times will continue to change and we have to adapt to it. For instance, we are live-streaming our Ramlila now and the five-day affair has been reduced to just a day,” he said.