Salt Lake’s EC Block has chosen a quietly powerful theme for this year’s Durga Puja. Titled “Nir”, meaning water, the pandal is a plea and a reminder: as rivers shrink and climate patterns change, simple traditional habits of conserving water deserve a second look.
The installation is dominated by more than 2,000 earthen pots of different shapes and sizes. Visitors entering the pandal are greeted by the gentle sound of flowing water and a warm amber glow from lights placed inside the clay vessels.
The design deliberately evokes an older way of life, when every household kept water in earthen pots and wells dotted neighbourhoods, long before modern appliances and concrete replaced them.
“We wanted to show how earlier generations stored and conserved water in earthen pots,” said Moulinath Majhi, secretary of EC Block, speaking to the Indian Express. “With technology and modernisation we have moved towards plastic and refrigerators; the present generation does not always know the importance of earthen pots. Clay is eco-friendly, whereas plastic and refrigeration add to environmental strain.”
Majhi noted that earthen pots were once used for more than drinking water. “In our childhood, sweets like rosogolla or mishti doi were handed out in clay pots at sweet shops. Food stayed fresh longer in clay. Those practices connected us to nature,” he said.
The pandal’s nostalgia has struck a chord with visitors. “It’s just beautiful, the water sound and the earthen pots are uniquely soothing,” said Rakhi Mitra, a visitor from South Kolkata. “The metro makes Salt Lake accessible; this is only five minutes from the station and worth the walk.” School day memories came back to Sreyashi Majumdar of Salt Lake: “We used earthen pitchers at home. Later the fridge replaced them. Walking through this pandal takes me back.”
Organisers say the message is practical as well as poetic: earthenware uses local materials, is biodegradable and helps keep water naturally cool, while reviving community awareness about conserving a resource that is increasingly under stress.
Story continues below this ad
The EC Block pandal aims to combine festival devotion with an environmental nudge, asking revellers to consider small, sustainable changes amid the celebrations.
