Bengal Club Durga Puja: Nitin Desai’s protégé to carry on legacy

This year, the pandal is made traditionally, and mud from the banks of river Ganga in Kolkata was used to sculpt the idol. Prasoon Rakshit, media coordinator, Shivaji Park Bengal Club, said that when the Durga Puja started at their club, the idol’s height was only five feet

Mumbai: The 101-year-old Bengal Club at Shivaji Park is preparing for its 88th Durga Puja with a 30-feet pandal which will boast a 19-feet Dashbhuja Devi idol, claimed to be the tallest idol in the state. This year, however, following the demise of award-winning art director Nitin Desai, who designed the pandal for four years, the baton has been passed on to Nilesh Chaudhary to continue the legacy of the club. Chaudhary, who was associated with Desai in his early years, has worked with the Hindi film industry for 20 years.

Chaudhary has chosen the ‘sheesh mahal divya jyoti mandir’ theme for the pandal, which will have electric diyas and some carvings with 25 chandeliers. “Although I have a team of skilled workers to set up the pandal, working during rains was a challenge,” Chaudhary said (HT PHOTO)

Joy Chakraborty, spokesperson, Bengal Club, remembered the late Bollywood director Desai took a keen interest in their puja as he was a big devotee of Durga. “At the start of his career, he had worked with many Bengali art directors, hence, he had a strong bond with Durga Puja. We could never think up to his level, and he would always amaze us with his work. It was a great working experience with him. We will miss him this year,” Chakraborty said. In Bengal Club’s souvenir publication, Desai is the first non-Bengali to get an obituary.

After Desai passed away, the spokesperson added, the club reached out to some of the Bollywood producers and got connected to Chaudhary. “We saw a similar kind of simplicity in him, and then I heard he had worked with Desai in his early years. Chaudhary wanted to pay tribute to his Guru. When we saw his work and the same passion, it convinced us to get him on board,” Chakraborty said.

Chaudhary has chosen the ‘sheesh mahal divya jyoti mandir’ theme for the pandal, which will have electric diyas and some carvings with 25 chandeliers. “Although I have a team of skilled workers to set up the pandal, working during rains was a challenge,” Chaudhary said.

This year, the pandal is made traditionally, and mud from the banks of river Ganga in Kolkata was used to sculpt the idol. Prasoon Rakshit, media coordinator, Shivaji Park Bengal Club, said that when the Durga Puja started at their club, the idol’s height was only five feet.

“Traditional dhakis (drum beaters), an integral part of the puja, will fly down from West Bengal and dhunuchi dance will be organised daily for the four-day event,” Rakshit said.

Amit Patil, an artisan from Matunga whose workshop looks like Kumartuli, Kolkata, sculpted the idol.