Grand Durga Puja procession in Kolkata to mark inclusion in UNESCO list

This year, Durga Puja in West Bengal would be a massive affair—with the festivities kicking off on September 1 as a celebratory procession would be organised in Kolkata much ahead of the official pujo dates.

The early celebration would be to commemorate UNESCO adding the mega-festival on its ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ in December last year. Durga Puja makes it the 14th addition from India on the list.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Monday, addressing puja organisers, representatives from different religions, and administrative and police officials in Kolkata announced that a grand procession will take place in the city on September 1.

“We will have a procession on September 1, not for political reasons, but to welcome Mother Goddess,” Banerjee stated.

Usually, Durga puja festivities culminate in a state-facilitated carnival. This time, however, there would be the additional procession, a month in advance. According to officials, the procession will start at 2 pm in north Kolkata from Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore on September 1. It will culminate at central Kolkata, in the Esplanade area.

All puja club teams were encouraged to participate—playing flutes, blowing conch shells, beating drums, singing songs—with any creative cultural activity of their choice. The clubs could bring along their bands, with members dressed in colourful clothes, carrying colourful flags or umbrellas, Banerjee suggested, during the announcement.

While giving a broad outline of the proposed procession, the chief minister suggested that on the day office-goers could be permitted to leave by 1 pm, and schools would close in advance.

At the culmination point, the chief minister would be joined by consuls general, representatives from chambers of industry, industrialists, and other dignitaries. The state school department was also asked to invite senior school students for participation.

Apart from the mega procession in the state capital—where people from immediate and surrounding regions could participate—similar processions would also be organised in other districts at the same time.

While reminding everyone that the Centre had frozen the funds owed to the state under the 100-day rural jobs scheme, the chief minister increased by Rs 10,000 the monetary support to the puja organisers to Rs 60,000 this year.

Although she asked all organisers to keep public safety in mind while making the arrangements, she also requested electricity suppliers to increase the discount from 50 per cent to 60 per cent.

Banerjee also warned the public not to be misled by “negative propaganda” and “maligning attempts”—a veiled suggestion people should not lose faith in the Trinamool Congress despite some of its leaders’ arrest in corruption cases.

In West Bengal, apart from the traditional rituals and ceremonies conducted at home, the Durga Puja is celebrated over a week by around 43,000 registered committees and clubs as organisers.

This year, reportedly, an international team would be visiting the state to witness the preparation and the celebrations. Of the 40,092 puja venues, 2,141 are said to be organised by women. Kolkata Police administered areas would have 2,700 puja venues.