インド東部のベンガル州コルカタで行われる女神を奉る「ドゥルガー祭」。元来、ベンガル地方は女神信仰が盛んな地域ではあるが、ドゥルガー女神の人気はその中でも群を抜いている。Pandalと呼ばれる煌びやかな建物が街中に無数に登場し、ドルゥガー女神の像が迎え入れられる。ドゥルガーへの祈りを求めて世界中からヒンドゥー教徒がコルカタに集い、祭りが続く10日間、人びとは東西南北に散りばめられた大小さまざまなパンダルを巡るのだ。彼らは眠ることを忘れて家族や友達と連れ立ち、女神と向き合う喜びを分かち合う。
これはドゥルガー祭の各日に行われる儀式や何ヶ月も前から女神像の製作に身を投じる職人たちをとらえた記録である。
There is a festival called “Durga Puja” for the goddess Durga in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengali state in India. Traditionally, worship towards goddesses is common in the Bengali region. However, the popularity of the goddess Durga cannot be compared to other goddesses. Numerous of gorgeous temporary structures called *pandal emerge in the city and welcome Durga.
Hindus from around the world gather in Kolkata to pray to her. Surprisingly, this festival lasts for 10 days. The people there enjoy to visiting various pandals scattered around the city. They share moments of joy when facing their goddess with their family or friends.
This is a documentary of rituals performed on each day and the people who engage in the making of idols of the goddess several months before in preparation for the festival.
*In Hinduism, pandal is a temporary structure set up to venerate gods.
