On one side were age-old traditions, on the other, the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence. Saraswati Puja celebrations on Friday offered a striking blend of the ancient and the modern in different parts of the district.
An unusual scene unfolded at a house in Bongaon, where technology took the place of tradition in a unique way. Sushobhan Ghosh, a resident of Subhashpally, performed Saraswati Puja with the help of AI. Instead of a priest, puja mantras were recited from ChatGPT on a smartphone. As the mechanical chants played out, family members of all ages came together to offer anjali, turning the ritual into a moment that merged faith with modern technology.
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Sushobhan says, "The priest could not come even after the scheduled time. Everyone had been fasting and waiting for a long time. So I suddenly decided to do everything from puja mantras to anjali through AI on mobile. The children also broke their fast by eating prasad."
Priest Bablu Bhattacharya says, "The feeling of performing puja in the presence of priests will not be there through AI."
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Meanwhile, Nisha Chakraborty, a ninth-grade student at Vidyasagar Baniban High School in Ashoknagar, is the priest for the school's Saraswati Puja. Wearing a yellow and red saree with a red cloth wrapped around her head, Nisha sits down to perform the puja. She single-handedly managed everything from puja to yajna, chanting Sanskrit mantras. Her classmates and school teachers also offered anjali to her chanting.
Nisha says, "I have helped with other pujas with my father before. But this is the first time I am performing Saraswati Puja alone."
Headmaster Manoj Ghosh says, "Students of the school perform Saraswati Puja. This is the school's tradition."
