Durga Puja in Kolkata

Last updated

Durga Puja in Kolkata
baagbaajaar saarbjniin durgo[?]sb 2018.jpg
Durga Puja being celebrated in Bagbazar, Kolkata
Country India
Reference 703
Region Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription2021 (16th session)
List Representative
Unesco Cultural Heritage logo.svg
Certificate : direct link

Durga Puja is an annual festival celebrated magnificently marking the worship of the Hindu mother goddess Durga. [1] [2] This festival is the biggest festival in Kolkata. [3] [4]

Contents

There were about 3,000 Barowari pujas in Kolkata in 2022. More than 200 pujas were organized in the city with a budget of over one crore rupees. [5]

Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO in December 2021. [6]

History

Beginning

Durga Puja festivities by dancers and musicians in Calcutta, circa 1830s-40s William Prinsep, Europeans being entertained by dancers and musicians in a splendid Indian house in Calcutta during Durga puja (1830s-1840s).jpg
Durga Puja festivities by dancers and musicians in Calcutta, circa 1830s-40s

Since 1610, the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family has been organizing Durga Puja at their original residence in Barisha, Kolkata. [7] This is probably the oldest Durga Puja festival in Kolkata. Nabakrishna Dev started Durga Puja at Shobhabazar Rajbari in 1757. [8] [9]

Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata Durga Puja Pandal - Falguni Sangha - Suren Tagore Road - Kolkata 2013-10-11 3353.JPG
Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata

Barowari Durga Puja began in Kolkata in the early part of the twentieth century. Barwari Durga Puja quickly became a common people's festival in Kolkata. Earlier, Durga Puja in Kolkata was confined to wealthy families. In 1910, the first Barowari Durga Puja in Kolkata was organized by "Bhowanipore Sanatan Dharmatsahini Sabha" at Balram Basu Ghat Road, Bhowanipore. [7]

Since 1985, the Asian Paints Authority has introduced the practice of awarding the Durga Puja Committees of Kolkata. This award is called the Asian Paints Sharad Shamman. Later many other commercial organizations introduced "Sharad Samman" or Durga Puja awards for Durga Puja in Kolkata. [10] [11] [12]

The Government of West Bengal introduced Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman in 2013. [13]

Expansion

Reports in the Yugantar and Anandabazar Patrika provide a rough estimate of Sarbojanin (public) puja expenditure since the 1950s. In 1957, each community spent an average of ₹8,000 to ₹12,000 rupees at that time, the combined cost of the pujas was about ₹25 lakhs were; in 1984, that total increased to approximately ₹2 crores. [14]

A Times of India report of 2012 provided a statistic on the expenditure on Durga puja in Kolkata during that season. According to the report, a total of ₹123.05 crores was spent on 3,577 pujas in Kolkata. [15]

Durga puja carnival

Durga Puja Carnival started in Kolkata in 2016. [16] [17] The carnival was not organized in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic. [18] It was again organized from 2022. [13] [18]

Recognition of UNESCO

In 2019, Tapati Guha-Thakurta was entrusted with the task of preparing a dossier by the Indian Ministry of Culture. The dossier was submitted to UNESCO for the inclusion of Durga Puja in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Representatives from various countries around the world evaluated the dossier at the 16th session, which began in Paris on 13 December 2021. "Durga Puja in Kolkata" gets Intangible Cultural Heritage status on 15 December 2021. [5] [19]

Puja: The Festival

Dignitaries of Kolkata enjoying dance performance at Red road carnival Dignitaries of Kolkata enjoying dance performance at Red road carnival IMG 0695 1.jpg
Dignitaries of Kolkata enjoying dance performance at Red road carnival

Durga Puja is mainly celebrated for 5 days - Shashti, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dasami. But the festive mood around Durga Puja in Kolkata starts before Shashti, mainly from Mahalaya. Durga Puja pandals are opened to the public from the day of Mahalaya. The main attractions of Durga Puja in Kolkata are the decorations, sculptures, pandals, [20] lights and illuminations, and carnival. [18]

Evolution of The Puja

In the 17th century, from Pujas being organised by the zamindars in their rajbaris, today the festival has become an emblem of joy and unbounded enjoyment. Always considered as a symbol of homecoming, centered around the deity herself, in the present day the Puja has become synonymous with extravagant pandals, pandal hopping, incorporation of various themes and also witnessing a huge array of lights. It has become a way of seeing and situating ourselves in the world. [21]

Even till the 20th century also Kolkata's Durga Puja was primarily a religious and familial event, where different communities came together to worship her and partake in the age-old traditions associated with the festival. While the emotions, essence of devotion and community spirit still thrives, Durga Puja has undergone remarkable changes in terms of scale, style and cultural significance. [22]

The most remarkable changes in the recent times include the exponential proliferation in the number of pujas across the city, an emphasis on creative art and a overwhelming crowd of people visiting the pandals every year. The city has witnessed a surge in the number of theme-based pujas over the years. The themes range from various artistic ideas, cultural traditions, famous monuments around the world and even biographies of famous persons. [23]

While the centuries-old rajbari pujas with their Sabeki Protima and traditions are still popular, theme based pujas have risen in the present scenario and have become extremely popular, recording huge number of footfalls every year. Due to ginormous number of people visiting pandals every year and overcrowding on the main five days, pandals are inaugurated from Mahalaya, much before Shashti. The magnification in the cost of expenditure has also lead the budget to be shifted from only chandas to advertisements and certain extent of government funding. Despite this changes, people have whole heartedly welcomed the new pinch to their age-old tradition and this festival has also turned out to be a melting pot of people from different religions, who enjoy the festivities. [24] [25]

Economy

A study - Mapping the Creative Economy around the Durga Puja - has been commissioned by the British Council on behalf of the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal. In 2021, the British Council in India mapped the creative economy of Durga Puja at ₹32,000 crores for the year 2019 and added that the festival contributed 2.58% of the GDP of West Bengal in fiscal year 2019–2020. [19] [26] "Durga Puja in Kolkata" contributes to a large part of this creative economy. [19]

The economy of Durga Puja in Kolkata is divided into various sectors. Major among the various economic sectors are installation, art and decoration, Idol making, lighting and illumination, literature and publishing, sponsorship, advertising, retail, crafts and design (Puja Utensils), film and entertainment, and food and beverage. [19] In 2019, Kolkata accounts for 15% share of padal-making (installation, art and decoration) industry of West Bengal, worth ₹129 crores. [19] Both the idol making industry and the lighting and lighting industry contributed ₹120 crores to Durga puja in Kolkata. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durga Puja</span> Annual Hindu festival

Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsav, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victory over Mahishasura. It is celebrated all over the world by the Hindu community, but it is particularly popular and traditionally celebrated in the Indian state of West Bengal, and other states like Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and some other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The festival is observed in the Indian calendar in the month of Ashvin, which corresponds to September–October in the Gregorian calendar. Durga Puja is a ten-day festival, of which the last five are of the most significance. The puja is performed in homes and public, the latter featuring a temporary stage and structural decorations. The festival is also marked by scripture recitations, performance arts, revelry, gift-giving, family visits, feasting, and public processions called a melā. Durga Puja is an important festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. Durga Puja in Kolkata has been inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO in December 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagaddhatri</span> Aspect of goddess Durga

Jagatdhatri or Jagaddhatri is an aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati, worshipped in the Indian state of West Bengal and other states like Odisha and Jharkhand. Her worship and rituals are derived from Tantra. It is believed that her worship frees her devotees from ego and all other materialistic desires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishnanagar, Nadia</span> City in West Bengal, India

Krishnanagar is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Nadia district.

Kolkata has many festivals throughout the year. Durga Puja is the largest festival of West Bengal, and it features colourful pandals, decorative idols of Hindu goddess Durga and her family, lighting decorations and fireworks. Other major festivals are Diwali, Kali Puja, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Poush Parbon, Poila Boishakh, Christmas, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of West Bengal</span> Overview of the culture of West Bengal (India)

The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Different geographic regions of West Bengal have subtle as well as more pronounced variations between each other, with Darjeeling Himalayan hill region and Duars showing particularly different socio-cultural aspects.

Guptipara is a census town in Balagarh, a community development block that forms an administrative division in the Sadar subdivision of the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagbazar</span> Neighbourhood in Kolkata in West Bengal, India

Bagbazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighbouring Shyambazar, the citadel of the Bengali aristocracy. Bagbazar has played an active role in growth and development of Kolkata.

Barowari refers to the public organization of a religious entity, mainly in West Bengal, India. Barowari has significance associated with the Durga Puja festival, in which the Hindu Goddess Durga is worshipped; symbolizing the victory of good over evil. The word "Barowari" comes from the Sanskrit words "bar", which means public, and Persian word "wari", means For.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhak (instrument)</span> Musical instrument from India

The dhak is a huge membranophone instrument from India. The shapes differ from the almost cylindrical to the barrel. The manner of stretching the hide over the mouths and lacing also varies. It suspended from the neck, tied to the waist and kept on the lap or the ground, and usually played with wooden sticks. The left side is coated to give it a heavier sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shobhabazar</span> Neighbourhood in Kolkata in West Bengal, India

Shobhabazar is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Paints Sharad Shamman</span> Indian Award

Asian Paints Sharad Shamman is an excellence award given to the best decorated Durga Puja Pandal in Kolkata during the festival in October. Since its inception in 1985, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman has been heralded as the true achievement for excellence in decorating the abodes for Goddess Durga. As time has progressed there have been numerous awards being given by many other companies for creative excellence, but still Asian Paints Sharad Shamman is considered the most important award and the rightful judgement for excellence. It is a trendsetter for all the later awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navaratri</span> Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga

Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in honour of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra, and again in the month of Ashvin (September–October). It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri. However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kali Puja</span> Hindu festival dedicated to the goddess Kali

Kali Puja, also known as Shyama Puja or Mahanisha Puja, is a festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. It is celebrated on the new moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja or Kartika. The festival is especially popular in the region of West Bengal, and other places like Mithila and Anga of Bihar Odisha, Assam, and Tripura, as well as the town of Titwala in Maharashtra, along with the neighbouring country of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picnic Garden</span> Neighbourhood in Kolkata in West Bengal, India

Picnic Garden is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata, in West Bengal, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaltabagan Durga Puja</span>

The Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja is a Durga Puja celebration in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1943 by Late Sri Lakhi Chand Jayaswal

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maliara</span> Village in West Bengal, India

Maliara is a village in Barjora in Bankura district of West Bengal State, India. It belongs to Burdwan Division.

Kurumgram is an old village located in Nalhati I CD Block in Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal State of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Railway, Kolkata</span> Railway zone of India

Metro Railway, Kolkata, is the owner and operator of Kolkata Metro, the oldest metro system of India. On 29 December 2010, it became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways, operated by the Ministry of Railways.

Tapati Guha-Thakurta is an Indian historian who has written about the cultural history and art of India. She is a director and professor in history at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, and was previously a professor at Presidency College, Kolkata. Her extensive research work on Kolkata's Durga Puja led to its inclusion in UNESCOs Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Bullygune Cultural Association is the most famous Sarbojanin (public) Durga idol kept at Bullygunge, a prominent locality in south Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, during the Durga Puja festival. The idol is kept for public display for approximately 5 days Or more; thereafter it is immersed in the Ganges at Babu Ghat on the auspicious day of Vijayadashami.

References

  1. ↑ "The Goddess Durga: The Mother of the Hindu Universe". www.learnreligions.com. Learn Religions. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Devi". www.worldhistory.org. World History. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Kolkata's biggest religious festival Durga Puja reframed as international art experience". The World from PRX. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Durga Puja 2022: City of Joy Kolkata gears up for biggest festival". Kolkata: www.hindustantimes.com. Hindustan Times. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 Shiv Sahay Singh. "I-T notices to Durga Pujas even as festival seeks UNESCO status". Kolkata: www.thehindu.com. The Hindu. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "UNESCO – Durga Puja in Kolkata". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 "বাড়ি থেকে বারোয়ারি সফর" (in Bengali). Kolkata: www.eisamay.com. Eisamay. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Bangiya Sabarna Katha Kalishetra Kalikatah by Bhabani Roy Choudhury, (Bengali), Manna Publication. ISBN   81-87648-36-8
  9. ↑ Sabarna Prithivi - website of the Sabarna Roy Choudhury family
  10. ↑ "About Asian Paints Sharad Shamman". Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Commercialization of Durga Puja awards
  12. ↑ Success for Asian Paints after the Sharad Shamman
  13. 1 2 Kinsuk Basu (4 October 2022). "99 pujas to join Red Road carnival on October 8". Kolkata: www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph India. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  14. ↑ Guha-Thakurta, Tapati (2015). In the Name of the Goddess (First ed.). Delhi: Primus Books. p. 32. ISBN   978-93-84082-46-8 . Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  15. ↑ Subhro Niyogi (27 October 2022). "At Rs 123cr, puja spend touches new high this year". Kolkata: timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Times of India. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Durga Puja 2016: Kolkata ends the mega bonanza with carnival road-show". Kolkata: www.indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "রাজ্য অভিনবত্বে-চমকে ঠাসা মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর পুজো শেষে ঠাকুর দেখা". www.sangbadpratidin.in. Sangbad Pratidin. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 "Red Road hosts grand Durga Puja carnival after two years, top artworks showcased". www.indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shiv Sahay Singh (15 December 2021). "Durga Puja in Kolkata is now UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage". Kolkata: www.thehindu.com. The Hindu. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Durga Puja 2022: Kolkata turns pandal hoppers' paradise post pandemic". www.newindianexpress.com. New indian Express. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "How our consumption of Durga Puja has changed over the years".
  22. ↑ "The Evolution of Durga Pujo: From Tradition to Trend in Kolkata".
  23. ↑ "Durga Puja 2023".
  24. ↑ "From Barir Pujo To Modern Pandals, This Is How West Bengal's Durga Puja Has Changed Over Years".
  25. ↑ "Explore Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata that have transitioned from traditional to high-tech art installations".
  26. ↑ "Mapping the Creative Economy around the Durga Puja". www.britishcouncil.in. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.