Abodes of the Goddess

Out of the myriad image complexes that constitute the visual-scape of Kolkata’s Durga Pujas, this lecture will focus on the temporary edifices housing the goddess that are locally termed pandals. Laying out a conceptual framework for this form of ephemeral festival architecture and the functions it performs, the essay weaves together the exhibitionary worlds of the festival with its range of skills and styles of making. It considers the ways in which these Puja pandals produce an imaginary festival topography that sprouts out of the city’s inhabited spaces and rests thickly within its built fabric, blurring the boundaries between the real and the fabricated. It also delves into the local art of pandal making and the assemblage of labour, expertise, material and design by decorator firms and pavilion designers.