Kolkata:
As the festivities began, celebrated painter Jogen Choudhury today drew sketches of the Goddess at a theme puja pandal depicting the art of life, his first ever live painting at a puja pandal.
Choudhury, the Rajya Sabha MP and one of the spearheads of the art movement since the 70s, praised the emerging trend in Durga Puja to take art to the popular domain at the terrocota-inspired Dum Dum Mall Pally Sarbojonin puja pandal.
In the first ever live demonstration by him before an enthralled audience, he sketched the Goddess as a simple rural woman who loves to adorn herself with jewlleries.
"My Durga epitomises the woman of the village, in country side. May the organizers decide what to do with the painting afterwards," Chowdhury, who finished the strokes in 10 minutes time, said.
"We have put up the painting at the entrance. We will do something appropriate later on. We are humbled to have the painting of a personality like Jogen Choudhury," organising committee Secretary Chandan Ganguly said.
"We have sourced the materials of the pandal, which resembles a brick kiln in parts with archways of a temple blended. The red-hued slabs and tiles are all procured from kilns dotted across south Bengal in three months time," he said.
MP Sougata Roy and theatre personality-actor-minister Bratya Basu looked on as Choudhury doodled on 'Sada Canvas'.
