What comes to mind when you think of the famous Durga Puja of India? It’s a festival of many shades. There are pandals, lights, decorations, food, and most importantly, a complete celebration mode gets on everywhere in West Bengal, a state in India. Gradually, the Kolkata Durga Puja festival has taken place worldwide. Many Indians, especially the Bengalees in the US and Europe, worship the Durga idol. The festival is not restricted to the Bengali diaspora only. Some celebrate it on four autumn days yearly, and others enjoy it as a weekend festival. But many people want to enjoy the vibes of Durga Puja.
For lovers of the grand festival, UNESCO has declared Kolkata Durga Puja a world heritage site. UNESCO’s ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) committee has inscribed Durga Puja on their Representative List of ICH of Humanity.
What UNESCO said?
Eric Falt, the New Delhi Director of UNESCO, said this tag would encourage people to relate to the festival more.
The organizers, craftsmen, artists, and designers will benefit, along with visitors and tourists.
India’s Place on the UNESCO Heritage List
Durga puja has become an Asian to be included in the UNESCO world heritage list. Various traditional activities and events belonging to different countries of Asia, including India, are on the list. But Durga Puja is the first festival to be listed.
Thirteen Indian events were on the list previously. Kumbh Mela, Yoga, Chhau Dance of Odisha and Bengal, and Ramlila are on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list. Manipuri Sankirtana, Buddhist chanting in Ladakh, Ramman, Vedic chanting, Mudiyett, and Koodiyattam. Durga Puja has become the 14th UNESCO World Heritage.
Statements of Indian PM and Bengal CM
Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has stated this as news of great pride and joy. He said the Durga Puja of Bengal exposes the best part of Indian traditions. PM Modi also believed that the whole world should experience this festival.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said this festival is an emotion uniting everyone.
Durga Puja UNESCO Heritage
The Durga puja UNESCO heritage tag has brought cheerfulness to thousands of faces, directly and indirectly, related to the festival. It is like a dream come true for them. According to them, the festival deserved a world heritage tag. They believe this tag will attract foreign tourists during the festival days, undoubtedly impacting the tourism industry and the overall economy of Bengal.
Historian Tapati Guha Thakurta’s research contributed to the dossier sent to UNESCO by the Cultural Ministry of India. She thinks Durga puja is a secular event with various artistic and social activities. She believes that the Durga puja UNESCO heritage tag will boost the nation’s creative economy. Film director Nilanjan Bhattacharya and research scholars Devi Chakrabarti and Sandipan Mitra also contributed.
Kolkata Durga Puja
Almost 37,000 community Durga pujas occur across West Bengal’s capital, located in the eastern part of India. Two thousand five hundred among them are organized in Kolkata. Devi Durga’s Clay idols, along with that of her four children, Laxmi, Saraswati, Kartik, and Ganesh, are prepared. They are worshiped in pandals, temples, or pavilions. People from all communities gather around the puja place. The main festival lasts four days, but celebrations go on for a week. Preparations go on throughout the months. During the puja days, events like cultural programs, culinary, crafts, and social work are organized. People hang out and visit pandals wearing new dresses.
The ICH Humanity List
UNESCO’s representative list has 492 elements at present. Events or festivals testifying diversified forms of intangible heritage and raising awareness occupy places on the list. The UNESCO committee acknowledging those events works to safeguard the global cultural heritages.
Durga Puja 2022
In this atmosphere, Durga Puja 2022 is going to be grand. West Bengal government has already started celebrating this pride, and CM Mamata Banerjee has led a grand rally thanking UNESCO.
Conclusion
Durga Puja 2022 is expected to become wider, more diversified, and more energetic in this context, attracting more people globally.
