Muslim artisan to create Puja Pandal using 2,500 kg jute

Arindam Das, the secretary of the puja committee. Nasima completed computer engineering from Domkol college and received many job offers. But she preferred to follow the path of her parents.
An artist gives final touches to an idol ahead of Durga Puja | PTI
An artist gives final touches to an idol ahead of Durga Puja | PTI

KOLKATA: To mark Durga Puja a festival of inclusiveness, organisers in Murshidabad district has engaged a Muslim jute artisan woman for decorating their theme-based pandal. Nasima Yasmin, a computer engineer, and her team are working round-the-clock to give the theme ‘’In search of past days’’ by using 2,500 kg jute.

“I am trying to give my best. I am feeling happy that hundreds of devotees of goddess Durga will see the creativity of my team. I am quite hopeful that they will appreciate our work,” said Nasima. Nasima’s work will be reflected in the pandal of Babupara in Berhampore.

“Every year, we plan to offer surprises in our theme-based pandal and deliver a message to the society. This year, we decided to bring back the memories of old days by using jute. Our budget for the pandal is Rs 7 lakh. We were in search of a good jute artisan and came to know about a few others. But we decided to engage Nasima as it will deliver a message of communal harmony. Durja Puja is a festival of inclusiveness,’’ said

Arindam Das, the secretary of the puja committee. Nasima completed computer engineering from Domkol college and received many job offers. But she preferred to follow the path of her parents. Her parents have been engaged in making jute handicrafts for the past three decades.

“Whenever I attended government-sponsored training programmes, I used to take Nasima with me when she was a child. She developed interest in this field while watching me making jute items,’’ said Nasima’s mother Majhera Bibi. Nasima involved 100 women in her assignment to decorate the pandal.

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