Colourful tableaux, folk dance, conch sound: Bengal celebrates Durga Pujo UNESCO tag

With Kolkata’s Durga Puja getting UNESCO’s cultural heritage tag, the West Bengal government on Thursday organised a mega rally in the city.

The rally, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, started off from the iconic Jorasanko Thakurbari and went till the Red Road.

The rally had colourful tableaux with traditional conch sounds and folk dance. In pic: Women in white saree with red border perform dhunuchi naach (a traditional dance in Bengal with clay incense burners).

Representatives of at least 1,200 renowned Durga Pujas in Kolkata, Howrah and Salt Lake took part in the rally dressed in traditional Bengali outfits. In pic, a section of participants in yellow kurta carry rainbow-coloured umbrella as they walk to celebrate the UNESCO tag for Kolkata's Durga Pujo.

Many roads of central Kolkata, like Bhupen Bose avenue, Central Avenue, Vivekananda Road, MG Road, BB Ganguly Street, SN Banerjee Road, Lenin Sarani, Mayo Road, Outram Road, RR avenue, JL Nehru Road, Duffrin Road, Hospital Road, Kidderpore Road, Esplanade Row, Esplanade Ramp, were closed for traffic. In pic, a participant wearing a cap with a kulo (bamboo tray) decorated with goddess Durga's face installed on it.

A year ago, UNESCO had accorded the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” tag to Kolkata’s Durga Puja, noting, “Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers. The festival is characterized by large-scale installations and pavilions in urban areas, as well as by traditional Bengali drumming and veneration of the goddess. During the event, the divides of class, religion and ethnicities collapse as crowds of spectators walk around to admire the installations.” In pic, a group enacts the killing of Mahishasur at the hands of goddess Durga, that signifies destruction of evil at the hands of the good.

Three stages were set up for the programme: one main stage for the chief minister, ministers and UNESCO members, one for performing artistes and another for members of the Forum for Durgotsab and other dignitaries. Over 10 LED screens have been erected in the Esplanade area with seating arrangements for 12,000 people.

“People of all religion, caste, creed will be part of the event. We will all get together and celebrate as one, because I believe, religion is personal, but festivals are for all,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said ahead of the rally.

In pic, a group of dhakis form a tableau in the rally.

Banerjee had said: “For all those who have difficulty walking, we have made arrangements for your seating too. We will not just thank UNESCO, we will also thank the people of Bengal, the Durga Puja committees, the idol makers, and everyone else.”

Before the rally, Banerjee described Durga Puja as an emotion that unites people above "parochial barriers" "Durga Puja is an emotion that rises above parochial barriers and brings us together. It unites the magnificence of art with spirituality. We thank UNESCO for recognising Durga Puja as an intangible cultural heritage and honouring the labour of love of everyone involved," she tweeted.

Mamata Banerjee was accompanied by party colleagues Firhad Hakim, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Aroop Biswas and Shashi Panja at the rally. In pic, artistes perform Chhau dance, a folk dance form originating in Bengal