JOIN USDurga Puja festivities conclude with carnival in West Bengal
The Durga Puja celebrations in West Bengal reached an official conclusion on Saturday with a state-supported mega carnival.
Attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior politicians and officials, and dignitaries, the carnival had around 100 puja organisers participating, showcasing the idols of Goddess Durga, along with live performances, on Red Road in the heart of the city.
The carnival that began around 4:30 pm continued late into the evening ending after 9 pm, with the chief minister occasionally coming down from the dais and joining the performing participants. With one of the performing groups, Banerjee participated in the dance. She was also seen interacting with children who came along with the troupes. The performances, besides highlighting the culture, also included social messages.
Officially, the celebration was ushered in, in the state, around a month in advance with the chief minister holding a celebratory procession on September 1. The procession with hundreds of people participating, had ended at Red Road with a cultural programme. UNESCO representatives were felicitated at the programme. The programme was organised to commemorate the inscription of the festival in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
The leaders of both the political parties – the BJP, and the Trinamool Congress– claim credit for the inclusion of the festival in the UNESCO’s list. While the state governments have no direct role to play in the process of the inscription, Banerjee’s government has offered financial support to hundreds of clubs that organise the puja every year. The carnival was also introduced as an annual event by the present state government. This year’s carnival, the fifth, took place after a gap of two years.