Darshan for Sale

[Guest guest]

MARKET FORCES SNEAK INTO PUJA PANDALS

 

BY DIPANKAR GANGULY

 

Calcutta, Oct. 25:

Ticket katun, pujo dekhun (buy a ticket and see the idol). And, no

standing in queues for hours.

If you see this notice at a popular Puja pandal next year, don't be

surprised. Darshan for a price is a practice that has already

started, though in a clandestine way.

 

Tapan and Ashtamita Barman, a couple who lives in Jadavpur, decided

on the evening of ashtami to visit the Puja at Bosepukur at Kasba

that has become a rage for the past few years.

 

When they reached the area at 9 pm, the queue snaked several hundred

yards. "We stood behind several hundred visitors and it would have

taken hours to get near the pandal. Fortunately, we came across a

young man who approached with an offer to position us at the head of

the queue in exchange for Rs 50."

 

By 10.30, the Barmans were back home, having been in and out of the

pandal in minutes.

 

"He (the youth) led us towards the front of the queue and placed us

behind 20-25 people taking two boys out (so no one complains)," the

Barmans said.

 

They are not alone. Somnath Chakraborty of Chetla said he bought a

place in the front of the queue for Rs 20, but that was at 10.30 pm.

 

The Bosepukur Puja committee is aghast. Its spokesman Kalyan Khara

said: "We have no idea such incidents are taking place. If we receive

any such complaints, immediate steps will be taken by our committee."

 

No one, it seems, is complaining. Quite the contrary, actually.

 

At Santosh Mitra Square, for instance, guest cards are being sold.

The Puja committee has issued 800 such cards, which allow visitors to

jump the queue. "Eighty per cent of them have been sold at different

prices," said chief organiser Pradip Ghosh.

 

If this is not "ticket katun, pujo dekhun", what is?

 

Ghosh realises that. "Learning from experience, I have decided to

raise a proposal to sell special cards next year," he said.

 

Selling 10,000 such cards at Rs 50 apiece will mean an income of Rs 5

lakh for the Puja committee, he added.

 

The minister for fire services, Pratim Chatterjee, responsible for

monitoring safety in Puja pandals, believes cards or tickets will

help control crowds.

 

Shiloo Chattopadhyay, chairman of TNS-Mode, which does market

surveys, believes "the fee should be linked to the popularity of the

Puja and the time of entry."

 

Police commissioner Sujay Chakravorty said: "It is a good

suggestion.The possibility can be explored." The police do not see a

problem if Puja committees follow rules for selling cards.

 

Chattopadhyay is suggesting a graded structure. For instance, a fee

of Rs 10 in the morning and Rs 50 in the evening. There could even be

free hours for people who cannot pay for the right to visit.

 

Besides, Bosepukur will charge one price and the Puja next door

possibly no price at all. Depending entirely on demand.

 

"This system will make the Pujas more market-oriented. It will lead

to healthy competition and, if properly handled, can pave the way for

the Pujas becoming a major national, if not international, event,"

said Chattopadhyay.

 

He suggests a slot when only foreign tourists will be allowed into

the pandal. "This can then become an important part of the travel

plan sold to a foreigner visiting Calcutta."

 

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee was at first hesitant to give his opinion,

but said: "I cannot reject the idea either."