Kolkata: Abhishek Hore (43), the current joint secretary of Chorbagan Sarbojonin, had been associated with the club for a long time. But he had never organised Lakshmi Puja under more trying circumstances.Hore had been facing questioning at the detective department for 48 hours following the stampede on Oct 17 which claimed 19 lives.After following police guidelines and completing the immersion on Saturday, Hore hardly got time to inform residents of the Lakshmi Puja being held on the road, close to the main pandal, on Sunday.This Lakshmi Puja venue was an exception in the club’s 91-year-old history. It used to be held inside the Durga Puja pandal. But this year, it was shifted to a 5ftx5ft space on the right of the entrance to the main pandal.To put things in perspective, the past three years had seen the Lakshmi Puja here as one of the “biggest” in north Kolkata.This year, the Lakshmi Puja pandal was set up exactly where the Durga Puja organisers had set up their club stage a week ago, using it for people from the administration and the 180 club members. Ironically, this was also the spot from where organisers were to monitor crowd movement.“The police had allowed the priest and three women access to the Durga idol till Saturday. But now that immersion is over, entry into the main pandal has been barred. Hence, we had to hold the Lakshmi Puja at a spot allowed by cops. The priest began the puja around 5 pm. We had to inform the locals about the new venue at the last moment. But we are happy that we were allotted space near the main pandal,” said Hore. The sombre atmosphere surrounding the venue reflected a neighbourhood still grappling with grief, shock, and intense public scrutiny following the tragedy. Locals gathered in small numbers to offer prayers.“Every year, this street is decorated with lights, and we all gather inside the pandal for Lakshmi Puja. Today, seeing the idol on a small platform is heartbreaking. But we understand the sensitivity of the situation,” said Sovon Banerjee, a local.“The tragedy has changed everything for our neighbourhood. It has been an incredibly difficult week for everyone involved with young men still staying out of the neighbourhood. While police investigations must take their course, we just wanted the continuity of the sacred puja rituals to remain unbroken,” another local said.As evening fell over North Kolkata, the quiet sound of a single conch shell signalled the completion of the rituals. In a week defined by grief, legal troubles, and restrictive police cordons, the subdued lighting around the small stage stood as a quiet testament to a community struggling to balance tradition with tragedy.Locals said the club also organises Jagaddhatri Puja, but its fate now hangs in the balance.
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