durga puja today is a platform for Art, craft and design, a space in which modern Art blends with folk craft, and artists with Art college degrees spearhead a team that invites traditional craftsmen from rural corners on board.

a feature of contemporary durga puja Art is creative use of limited space as most structures come up at street corners. puja designers have sidestepped tradition by first choosing a theme, in accordance with which the décor and the structure are then planned. so widespread is the demand for novel themes that junior artists take up puja designing as a full-time career. synthetic materials, massive pandals and flashing lights have been replaced by natural resources such as straw, jute, bamboo, mud and clay.

since these structures are in effect like open-air installations, even professional art directors from cinema, commercial and graphic artists, and textile designers have entered the fray.

for the visitor, this means a variety of artistic interpretations to savour, with a famous european monument being replicated in one locality and in another a message against plastic use being given, a corner of rural bengal coming up on one street and a tribute to an icon being given in the next. every exploration ends in the idol of durga but there too the variety in the imagery is infinite.