The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed the way we live before 2020. This unprecedented time prompts organisers of Durga Puja to reflect on how to strategically approach the management of this five-day long festival in the time of “social distancing,” as well as celebrate the festival of Durga Puja during Shardiya Navratra.
An unknown virus, which the whole world did not even know at the time of Durga Puja of 2019, has emerged as a big challenge for the Durga Puja of 2020. Due to COVID-19, not only in Bengal, but the devotees of Goddess Durga and the organisers from every corner of the globe had considered various alternatives like worshipping small size idols that can be carried by one or two people in their Pandals or by placing the symbolic Ghats (Kalash-Sthapana). Which took a lot of fun out of the Pandal visits which, even if permitted at that time, would be done with a number of restraints and limitations.
In this scenario, U R Web Services was obliged to innovate in order to “enable the devotees to experience the Durga Puja Festival in a new way and connect with diverse local communities”. To meet the fervour and the tides of expectations of millions of devotees of Devi Durga it had been decided to launch a website www.digitaldurgapuja.com, giving a Digital touch to the Durga Puja Festival.
“The website DigitalDurgaPuja.Com makes the grandeur of Durga Pujo celebrations accessible on Laptop, PCs or Mobile screens from anywhere in the world. The initiative aimed to restrict the physical movement at the Pandals during Durga Puja, at the same time provide an exciting opportunity for millions of devotees to virtually participate in the activities of the Pandals, have glimpses of the famous Durga Pratima, attractive decorations and thematic Pandals distantly,” said Shilpi Roy, CEO of U R Web Services. This website was prepared to contact the organisers of Durga Puja Committees in order to make them aware of the outline of this platform as well as to invite them to join us by providing their details. All the other links is being updated on the day of Mahalaya (Pitra-Visarjan). After “Bodhon” on the sixth (Shashthi) day of Navratri, devotees will be able to light a virtual lamp on the beat of Dhak (Drumbeats). The website may offer services like ‘Online Darshan’, ‘Online Pushpanjali’, ‘Online Daala’ and ‘Online Pronami’ based on demand. It will allow people to offer personalised prayers with ‘gotra’ or clan name to seek blessings for oneself and their family.
Mr. Nirmal Chandra Roy, President of Meerapur Barwari Durga Puja Committee, says that in today’s digital age, many committees including Meerapur have their own Website, Facebook Page, Instagram Page and YouTube channel etc., where information related to an individual committee along with images and videos already exist but DigitalDurgaPuja.Com can prove to be a Web Directory or Sarbojonin (common) platform for the devotees to experience a Special Pandal Tour during Durga Puja.
According to Shilpi, such digital mediums were also used earlier to reach people who are outside their city or country or unable to participate due to physical conditions, professional engagements etc. But in the year of Corona Virus pandemic, especially at a time when people were feeling restless due to COVID-19 and worried because of the sudden announcement of Containment Zones, this website dedicated to Durga Puja in virtual space focused more on safety and provide protection to devotees with the facility of Online Darshan and Pandal Visit.
Every year, at the time of Shardiya Durga Pujanotsav, it will be updated with the information related to the rules and regulations issued by the local/state administration. The rules related to the internal arrangements made by the organizing committees for the devotees can also be publicized through this website. UR Web Services requests all the devotees to be alert – be safe and make maximum use of contactless online medium.
In its initial phase we are approaching the organisers of Durga Puja of the following parts of India to organise: Digital Durga Puja in Allahabad || Digital Durga Puja in Lucknow || Digital Durga Puja in Kanpur || Digital Durga Puja in Varanasi || Digital Durga Puja in Gorakhpur || Digital Durga Puja in Ayodhya || Digital Durga Puja in Meerut || Digital Durga Puja in Delhi || Digital Durga Puja in New Delhi || Digital Durga Puja in Kolkata || Digital Durga Puja in Mumbai || Digital Durga Puja in Chennai || Digital Durga Puja in Bhopal || Digital Durga Puja in Jaipur || Digital Durga Puja in Ahmedabad || Digital Durga Puja in Meerut || Digital Durga Puja in Moradabad || Digital Durga Puja in Uttar Pradesh || Digital Durga Puja in Haridwar || Digital Durga Puja in Dehradun || Digital Durga Puja in Bangalore || Digital Durga Puja in Bengaluru || Digital Durga Puja in Hyderabad || Digital Durga Puja in Pune || Digital Durga Puja in Maharashtra || Digital Durga Puja in Nagpur || Digital Durga Puja in Indore || Digital Durga Puja in Secunderabad || Digital Durga Puja in Orissa || Digital Durga Puja in Surat || Digital Durga Puja in Chennai || Digital Durga Puja in Bikaner || Digital Durga Puja in Jodhpur || Digital Durga Puja in Telangana || Digital Durga Puja in Patna || Digital Durga Puja in Vadodara || Digital Durga Puja in Ghaziabad || Digital Durga Puja in Noida || Digital Durga Puja in Ludhiana || Digital Durga Puja in Agra || Digital Durga Puja in Nashik || Digital Durga Puja in Aurangabad || Digital Durga Puja in Dhanbad || Digital Durga Puja in Ranchi || Digital Durga Puja in Guwahati || Digital Durga Puja in Coimbatore || Digital Durga Puja in Visakhapatnam || Digital Durga Puja in Jabalpur || Digital Durga Puja in Raipur || Digital Durga Puja in Bilaspur || Digital Durga Puja in Sultanpur || Digital Durga Puja in Vijayawada || Digital Durga Puja in Kota || Digital Durga Puja in Chandigarh || Digital Durga Puja in Solapur || Digital Durga Puja in Satara || Digital Durga Puja in West Bengal || Digital Durga Puja in Bengal || Digital Durga Puja in North East || Digital Durga Puja in Tripura || Digital Durga Puja in Shillong || Digital Durga Puja in Mysore || Digital Durga Puja in Gurgaon || Digital Durga Puja in Aligarh || Digital Durga Puja in Bhubaneswar || Digital Durga Puja in Tiruchirappalli || Digital Durga Puja in Jalandhar || Digital Durga Puja in Agartala || Digital Durga Puja in Kullu || Digital Durga Puja in Thiruvananthapuram || Digital Durga Puja in Jamshedpur || Digital Durga Puja in Warangal || Digital Durga Puja in Cuttack || Digital Durga Puja in Firozabad || Digital Durga Puja in Asansol || Digital Durga Puja in Kochi || Digital Durga Puja in Jalpaiguri || Digital Durga Puja in Malda || Digital Durga Puja in Jhargram || Digital Durga Puja in Kalimpong || Digital Durga Puja in Howrah || Digital Durga Puja in Darjeeling || Digital Durga Puja in Uttar Dinajpur || Digital Durga Puja in Hooghly || Digital Durga Puja in Dakshin Dinajpur || Digital Durga Puja in Cooch Behar || Digital Durga Puja in Birbhum || Digital Durga Puja in Bardhaman || Digital Durga Puja in Bankura || Digital Durga Puja in Alipurduar || Digital Durga Puja in Kharagpur || Digital Durga Puja in Tamluk || Digital Durga Puja in Baharampur || Digital Durga Puja in Krishnanagar || Digital Durga Puja in Nadia || Digital Durga Puja in Barasat || Digital Durga Puja in Alipore || Digital Durga Puja in Purulia || Digital Durga Puja in Udaipur || Digital Durga Puja in Jammu || Digital Durga Puja in Ajmer || Digital Durga Puja in Siliguri || Digital Durga Puja in Barrackpore