Local companies replace some national brands.
The Slowdown has taken a toll on Durga Puja, eastern India's largest festival, with corporate sponsorships stagnating at last year’s level.
For the past five years, corporate sponsorships for Durga puja have been growing at 25 per cent. This year, however, has seen a slowdown with large spending telecom and consumer durable companies lessening their presence. Instead, struggling tyre maker Dunlop was this year’s biggest sponsor.
Kolkata hosts around 3,000 Durga Pujas every year, of which close to 300 are family pujas and another 1,000 housing-community pujas.
However, most companies are tight-lipped about their drop in sponsorships and budgets this year. But a stroll through the big budget pujas in the city and a word with the puja organising committees, revealed the low-key multi-national presence.
Bharti Airtel, which used to sponsor some of the largest Durga Pujas every year has cut down on sponsorships this year. A spokesperson for Bharti Airtel confirmed, “We are not sponsoring many pujas this year.” However, Airtel is continuing with its 'Cut the Queue' offer, a logo downloadable on Airtel mobiles for VIP entrances at select pandals.
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Aircel, on the other hand, is sponsoring the top 32 pandals in the city. A spokesperson for Aircel, said, “We are careful with our spends this year.”
Berger Paints has also slashed its budget for hoardings and signages – to touch Rs 17-18 lakh this year. Official sources in Berger said, “We do not sponsor pujas but we spend on putting up hoardings and banners.”
Puja committees, too, confirmed, this year, only a few local companies dominate the puja scene with sponsorships in the range of Rs 10,000 - Rs 1 lakh per sponsor, instead of the big corporations which used to spend between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 6 crore on puja sponsorships.
A spokesperson for Dunlop India, said, “We sponsor some of the largest pujas in the city. Our sponsorship amount this year is same as last year. We are also toying with the idea of organising events and sponsoring the prize money for contests because that involves more people and attracts more consumer interest.”
That is clearly an innovative trend among large corporates. For most national giants, organising events and contests in the city reflects a move away from one-off hoardings and signages at festival venues, to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity that encourages a better environment during the Durga Puja session and a commitment to the local community that goes beyond the five-day festival.
Telecom handset manufacturer Nokia, for instance, has announced its annual XpressMusic Dhaki competition. Nokia also launched a specially composed ‘dhaki’ tune, by percussion artist and tabla player Bikram Ghosh.
The dhaki contest this year will cover over 250 puja pandals in the Eastern region. The winner of the dhaki competition would be awarded prize money of Rs 1 lakh. Adding to the festivities, Nokia vans will go around the city inviting people to try their hand at the ‘dhak’ and win assured prizes in return. Dhaki entries can also be filed from these vans.
Power company CESC, on its part, has announced ‘CESC True Spirit Durga Puja’, an initiative that aims to create a safe, clean, meaningful and comfortable Durga Puja environment. It recognises compliance of organisers with civic and relevant rules and regulations to make pujas ethical, safer, cleaner and enjoyable without breaking rules (typical violations - blocking roads or houses, not restoring parks after end of festival, etc). A spokesperson for CESC said, “This year, around 270 pandals have been short-listed from nearly 1,000 applications. The company has a budget of nearly Rs 5 lakh worth of prize money this year. The first prize winner of ‘True Spirit Durga Puja’ will get Rs 50,000.”
Vodafone, organises ‘Aagomoni’, a nightlong musical extravaganza to usher in Durga Puja with renditions by renowned artists.
Sridhar Rao, chief executive officer, Vodafone Essar East, said, “We wanted to keep alive the tradition of Durga Puja over the years and offer our customers an experience rather than just products. Aagomoni is one such platform to connect with our subscribers and celebrate the Puja with them.” Vodafone makes money by selling Aagomoni passes priced at Rs 40, available at all Vodafone stores in Kolkata.
Puja committees, that set up marquees and organise community prayers, are worried and are trying to curtail costs.
“The cost of organising Durga Puja has gone up by 20 per cent. We are getting sponsors and they are giving us the same amount they used to give. But since costs have gone up, the deficit remains,” said Subrata Mukherjee, Congress leader and president of the Ekdalia Evergreen Club.
The budget of this puja in south Kolkata is the same as last year - over Rs 24 lakh. Sponsors, once again, are mainly local companies.
Ekdalia Evergreen Club assistant general secretary Rajpal Singh said, “This year getting sponsors is turning into a herculean task.” Ekdalia Evergreen Club, whose puja is into its 67th year this year, is incurring a cost of Rs 7 lakh, up from Rs 6 lakh last year, in setting up the 'pandal' or marquee where the Durga Puja is held. The price of the idol has gone up by Rs 30,000 to touch Rs 1,50,000 this year.
“We are trying to cut costs. This year we are mostly communicating with people thorugh e-mails or sending couriers to save on travelling expenses. But there are some traditions, that we have to maintain. The prestige factor is there,” Singh said.
Another large community puja organiser, the Singhi Park Puja Committee, is also feeling the heat. Singhi Park president Shankar Bose said, “This year the puja budget is Rs 25 lakh, up from last year's Rs 22 lakh. We have had to raise the budget. But as our radius of publicity has increased, we are hopeful that we will get sponsors.” Bose said the marquee construction cost has gone up from Rs 5 lakh a year ago to Rs 8 lakh this year.
The cost of the idol has also gone up from Rs 90,000 last year to Rs 1,50,000 this year, since the average raw material cost has doubled.