Media houses may be contorting themselves to cover the International Yoga Day events that are being held across Kolkata and that will have their climax with Prime Minister Narendra Modi doing asanas in the city on Sunday, but it’s the social media “influencers” who are reaping the benefits.
More than 100 Kolkata content creators – each with at least 20,000 or more followers on Instagram – have been selected to cover the three-day events being organised around International Yoga Day, My Kolkata has reliably learnt.
The official Instagram page of the event says that it is going to be “West Bengal's Biggest Yoga Movement.”
The creators have mostly been selected from the fitness, wellness, travel and lifestyle segments. They have been tasked with documenting events through Instagram reels, stories and social media updates.
The campaign, sources in the know said, is being coordinated through agencies working with the Ayush ministry.
For years, many Kolkata-based content creators have complained of limited opportunities compared to their counterparts in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
For many influencers, the Yoga Day assignment represents elusive recognition.
“I feel honoured to be part of such a large initiative,” said lifestyle vlogger Pritha Paul, who has more than 72,000 followers on Instagram. “It gives us a sense that our work is being acknowledged and that local creators are being included in important events. I don’t think we’ve got such exposure before as vloggers.”
Another influencer, who requested anonymity, said: “The previous government would invite us as guests. We were never paid for anything. This time, the government is paying us about Rs 10,000 for one reel.”
The amount mentioned could not be independently verified. Most sources and content creators My Kolkata spoke to said an outstation agency was coordinating.
On Friday, a 2km yoga run titled Daud Se Dhyan was organised across 11 locations in the city. On Saturday, a mega drone show and cultural carnival featuring 3,000 drones is scheduled at Prinsep Ghat and Millennium Park.
The celebrations will culminate on Sunday with a mass yoga demonstration on Red Road, where Prime Minister Modi is expected to address participants.
Organisers have also announced a yoga demonstration on 500 boats to create a world record.
“Representatives from Guinness World Records are in town and they went around the city ghats to do a recce on Thursday,” said one of the agency representatives.
It is also learnt that the influencers chosen underwent a screening process, including police verification. While many were selected, some creators were left out
One influencer, who requested anonymity, said: “I was not selected and I do not know why. We were not informed about the criteria beyond follower count.”
Lifestyle content creator Anindita Sanyal, who has over 1,25,000 followers, said the campaign highlights the growing importance of regional voices.
“I think this initiative by the government has emerged as a refreshing and empowering platform for Bengal’s influencer community. Beyond promoting wellness and mindful living, it has recognised and celebrated the voices of Kolkata’s digital creators, placing them on par with influencers from across the country,” she said.
A representative of a Kolkata-based talent management agency involved in the project said creators were enthusiastic about the assignment.
“Influencers are happy with the remuneration and the exposure. It is a significant opportunity for city vloggers to be associated with a national campaign. We hope there are more such opportunities in the future,” the representative said.