SHILLONG: Durga Puja, the biggest Hindu festival of the state, is all set to be a pale shadow of it’s familiar crowd movement, traffic snarls, eye-catching illuminations, or huge gathering at immersion ceremony.
Thanks to COVID pandemic and the topsy turvy situation that has already thrown life out of gear in good measure, this year’s Puja—from October 23 to 26—will be sans hustle bustle, razzle-dazzle and the atmosphere fervour and festivity traditionally connected with the three-day festival. The good news is that nobody is complaining!
Meghalaya government has issued an elaborate SOP “to prevent spread of COVID” taking the Central Puja Committee on board. Some of the major takeaways of the SOP are: No large gatherings will be permitted at the pandals; inter-locality movement is not encouraged; no serving of bhog prasad ; no live cultural shows or sports—all of which normally add up to the gaiety and grandeur of the festival.
The SOP has put no bar on religious rituals but taken all steps possible to contain movement of persons. However, a major deviation this year is restriction on the size of the idol of the Goddess.
Usually idols are 12 feet or more in height, this time is restricted to 5 feet and all-in-one. The idea is that heavier idols require big number of persons to carry them for immersion.
The government has also recommended “minimum embellishment and lighting” so that devotees and visitors do not feel attracted to do pandal hopping. Apart from issuing advisory for those above 65 years or under 10 years, pregnant women, persons with comorbidity do not venture out. For permitting entry to devotees, every pandal will have to mandatorily follow health protocols like wearing of mask, hand sanitisation and maintaining distance of 5 feet from the next person.
Another major regulation is the restriction on presence of devotees inside the pandals. The prescription is to let in only one-third of the total space available. Besides to avoid large presence of devotees for prayers and floral offerings, the ceremony would be staggered. Live streaming of the rituals has also been recommended so that those who are unable to be physically present can be virtually present.
One reason why puja pandals witness a rush during the day is the attraction of partaking in bhog prasad which is a cooked meal. The SOP has mandated against serving of sit-down meals. However, packed prasad can be served without diluting other protocols.
With curfew in place from 10 pm daily, all puja pandals will have to be shut by 9 pm. This also means that late night pandal hopping is out for this year.
With a view to reducing the presence of large unregulated crowds at the immersion ceremony, the smaller idols will ensure involvement of smaller number of persons. The SOP has laid down the number per puja committee at 15 persons and only two mini trucks would be permitted. Immersion ceremony which will have to be carried out only in the designated place, will be over by 3 pm this year, unlike 7 pm normally.
The Committees have been directed to ensure that environmental aspects of the festival are strictly adhered to.