Kolkata: An emerging trend in the Durga Pujo in Kolkata is a public war of words between pujo committees to attract pandal hoppers to themselves. It's a trend that could have much larger implications than the immediate humour it has evoked.
It all began in August when a south Kolkata pujo committee ran a teaser campaign that raised quite a few eyebrows. The campaign promised something big and subsequently revealed that the organisers of Deshapriya Park Pujo are coming up with the world's biggest Durga idol ever made. The corporate sponsor, who utilised pujo frenzy to launch its brand and product, invested heavily in the campaign. It resulted in campaign war as some of the rival pujo committees found the claim offensive.
Arindam Sarkar, convenor of Desapriya Park Puja Committee, said, "In all our campaigns, including teasers, we have not spoken against any other pujo. We have only promoted our own USP. The negative campaigns later started by some pujo committees against us have only helped us get more popular."
Arindam Basu, a PR professional, said, "This campaign has not only started a war of words but has also instigated others to come up with similar campaigns and take advantage of its brand recall."
Jumping into the fray of campaign retort are some of the big budget pujos of Kolkata. The organisers of the Naktala Udayan Sangha, who claim their pandal represented the world’s biggest flower, has drawn from the campaign phrases of their Deshapriya Park rival to maintain the biggest truth lies in giving things back to the society. Pujo organisers like Santosh Mitra Square have hit at the Desapriya Park campaign directly with sarcasm and have smeared the city with nearly 750 hoardings.
Pradip Ghosh, president of Santosh Mitra Square Puja Committee, said. "We have never involved ourselves in pujo campaigns before because we are already very popular. But this time we have started this campaign in protest. Because we feel that the mother goddess cannot be big to some and small to others."
The emerging battle trend which is likely to intensify in the years ahead has firmly established Bengal's biggest carnival in the radar of the corporates.
Basu added, "It is no longer just a festival. It has become a rich property for corporate houses. They have used this platform to rebrand themselves, launch themselves. So what it means is that it makes Durga puja a much more lucrative brand option for corporate houses."
Many pujo enthusiasts believe that the steady corporatisation and fierce campaigning could change the face of this autumn festival in Kolkata altogether. But whether that change would be for the better or worse, only Ma Durga knows.
Comments
0 comment