Meet Kalidas Gayan, an artist behind Aikotaan's Durga puja

After revelling in the festivities of Durga puja, the idols have been immersed after Sindoor khela celebrations on October 5, 2022. With the vibrant festivities coming to an end in the capital, it is perhaps time to know the artists who work behind the stage to bring the goddess alive for the community.

Durga Pujas in Bengal is not just a festival, but an emotion. There is a saying that Bengalis live from one puja to another. For artists from the Bengali community working in the capital, Puja is also a means of livelihood.

CitySpidey met Kalidas Gayan, 52 from Bengal as he was perfecting an idol for the pandal at Aikotaan's Durga puja park. Kalidas visits every year to Delhi during the durga puja. He has been handcrafting beautiful pandals of Durga for the last 30 to 35 years. Throughout his journey from Kolkata, Kalidas has battled many challenges including Covid.  He says, "I have learnt this trade from my family. This art is my heritage and I am proud of it."

From working on intense and calculative masterpieces to simple and elegant puja pandals, he has all the experience. Talking about his journey, he says, "My Mama was a very renowned artist who made award-winning pandals in Kolkata. He worked in Beleghata pandal for 15 years and gave Kolkata some masterpieces. I have learned a lot from him."

Kalidas while talking about Delhi's durga puja says that pandals in Delhi are not as creative as in Kolkata but they're getting more creative every year. He mentions that the 'Ram Mandir' and 'BelurMath' themes in CR park Delhi are fairly creative. He adds, "People couldn't invest much in the theme but their dedication is visible. It was raining during preparations which created some hurdles but we figured it out and did our best."

The large-scale Durga puja celebrations provide an opportunity for Kalidas to display his work. Moreover, Kalidas informs us that Durga puja committees take care of the food and lodging of artists which helps them save their earnings.

As a result, Kalidas reveals that the past two years were difficult for them as Durga puja festivals did not take place due to Covid restrictions. With a smile, he says, "We're small-scale artists. We are used to building things from the scratch." Talking about his Kalidas says, "It was a very difficult time. I along with 39 others was stuck in Delhi. We just wanted to return to our families in our village who were waiting for us." After the Covid period, Kalidas and his friends had to start from square one. With vibrant celebrations taking place this year in Delhi, things are looking up for him.