The inclusion of Durga Puja in UNESCO’s list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage” has further added to the celebrations this year.
The inclusion of Durga Puja in UNESCO’s list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage” has further added to the celebrations this year.
After two years of sobriety, the City of Joy is pulling out all stops to celebrate Durga Puja, which will be celebrated in the first week of October.
Malls and marketplaces are flooding with buyers; Tailors are suddenly burdened with orders; Almost every evening there is a pre-puja sari exhibition in some part of the city; And worship committees are reporting in their circulars that the celebration will return to pre-pandemic scale. To help the shopkeepers, Metro Rail has decided to increase its weekend services between September 3 and 25.
What’s sweet in this year’s festivities? Inclusion of Durga Puja in UNESCO list “intangible cultural Heritage”. was recognized last December Carnival was celebrated on Thursday under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. and UNESCO representatives participated.
Kumartuli, a basti of artisans supplying idols of Goddess Durga and her four children, has regained its footing after two years of disappointing performance. “This year, there are hardly any idols available for sale – everything you see in Kumaratuli is already booked,” said idol maker Inderjit Pal, who is working on 11 sets of large sculptures this year. which is up from eight in 2021.
These days only artisans are not busy. Hema Dhawan, who runs Aashi Boutique in Golf Green, is often returning home from her tailoring workshop at 2.30 am. “I am getting over 500 orders every week. Last year, the weekly orders barely crossed 100. I am finding it difficult to cope, but I am not complaining,” said Ms. Dhawan.
ready for glory
Sushmita Das, who recently moved to Kolkata from the US, is not one to worry about timely delivery of blouses by the tailor. He already has everything ready and planned down to the last detail. “After finishing my PhD for the past two years and mourning the loved ones lost during the pandemic, I finally feel like living this puja happily. I have managed to find five sarees from my wardrobe that are the same color – midnight blue – but differ in style, design and fabric. The idea is to create a different look every day with the same color sarees. I have carefully planned all my blouses and accessories,” said Ms. Das, who recently earned her doctorate in communications and media.
“Plus, a very dear cousin is coming from Paris. We’ve practically never been in the same city during worship; so we try to be ornate and gallant around the pandals in our outfits and take lots of pictures.” Making plans,” she said.
Salt Lake City resident Koel Ghosh is delighted to have participated in a recent exhibition, saying the enthusiasm she saw at the event indicates that the city is looking to enjoy Durga Puja in its “full charm and vigor”. Was prepared. “We had more than expected participation in the exhibition of sarees and accessories organized by Ethnic Haat. It was very satisfying to see women of all ages preparing for Super Puja after two dark years amidst glittering colours, threads, looms and weaving,” said Ms. Ghosh.