Durga Puja pandal in east Delhi

8 Oct 2008, 0000 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: A Durga Puja pandal in east Delhi is making news with a very new theme the evolution of newspaper journalism. The Puja pandal in east Del hi's Mayur Vihar Phase I has made a unique tribute to the history of newspapers in their celebrations.

Tracing the evolution of print journalism from the Roman times to the present day, the pandal by Milan Cultural and Welfare Association has set up huge display boards of various newspapers in and around the world that have helped shape the minds of readers. Prominent newspapers in India like Anand Bazaar Patrika to Eenadu are also on display.

Further, the pandal also dwells on lesser-known facts of the newspaper world. For instance, the world's first daily was a German publication in the 16th century and the Bengal Gazette was the first English daily in the country.

Tapan Roy, president of the pandal committee, explained that their objective was to give a boost to India's traditional heritage by putting the limelight on newspapers and the impact they have had on the lives of readers.

"Last year, our pandal theme was on art, language and culture of Bengal and how it has evolved over the years. This year, we thought of making our theme more on literature and we finally decided on newspapers. Our effort has always been to focus our pandal themes on historical and mythological issues," explained Roy. The pandal is known in the neighbourhood for their unique themes and has won various awards, including the Times Durga Devi Namastute contest, for best pandal in the last few years.

Apart from big displays of Indian newspapers, the pandal has also acknowledged significant newspapers in other countries from Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Germany etc. "Through our themes we want to spread awareness in society. Lots of people ask us about our themes and how we decide on which one to promote every year and we clearly tell them that all our themes have a social message. We had a special team of experts, which carried out research on the evolution of newspapers, so we could put it up on display for visitors," added Roy.

Enthusiastic visitors, particularly children, were seen standing in front of the various display boards of newspapers like LA Times, London Gazette, Gentleman's Magazine and various papers in other languages to read up on their history and evolution. "This is the first time I have seen such an educational theme for a Durga Puja pandal. It gives us an insight to how newspapers have evolved over the ages to their present form today," said 12-year-old Tanima Chatterjee, a local resident of Mayur Vihar. source: times of india

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