What the UNESCO heritage tag could mean for the Durga Puja ecosystem

The crafts around the festival - from the idol-making at Kumartuli to the handicrafts that revolve around it - will get a huge boost, says the art historian

The conch shell has been sounded. West Bengal’s biggest festival, Durga Puja, has come a month early, courtesy the UNESCO ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ tag and the state’s ‘thank you’ show on Thursday that took the shape of a street carnival.

In December 2021, ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To mark the recognition and launch the month-long celebrations, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a procession on Thursday from Jorasanko Thakurbari (ancestral home of the Tagore family) to Red Road – a 5.3-km stretch in central Kolkata.
 

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