Durga Puja has forged another Unesco link, or rather its pandal and idol art have. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Unesco has highlighted 90 activities from around the globe on its website https://ich.unesco. org/.
The convention was adopted on October 17, 2003, by the 32nd session of the General Conference of Unesco. On the list of highlighted activities on the website is a preview show of Durga puja, that had been started last year.
Two other activities from India have made it to the list — an international folk dance festival “Culture Connects” coming up in October in Noida and Ghaziabad, and a “Colours of Culture” photo exhibition in Shimla that took place in June.
The Preview Show debuted in 2022 in a bid to allow tourists from abroad and across the country a chance to enjoy the art of Durga puja before the rituals start and the pandals are overrun with crowds.
The tourists had to be pre-registered to be considered for invitation to a select list of the best pandals in town. With entry being strictly monitored through QR-coded invitations, the event was highly appreciated by government officials, foreign diplomats, as well as Unesco representatives who attended the opening at Tala Prattoy, one of the chosen pujas. About 20,000 tourists had seen a preview of the pandals before they were opened to the public.
“This year we have increased the number of days from three to five, starting on October 11 while the number of pujas enlisted remains 26. The selection is a mix of contemporary and traditional community pujas, and aristocratic household ones,” said Sayantan Maitra, vice-president, massArt, which organises the event in partnership with the British Council.
While the household pujas are for daytime viewing, the community puja show time will be 6pm to 5am. This year, a date will be set aside for policemen, who work through the festive period, and their families.
The event will create a space for international artistic collaborations.
“Two Dutch artistes, who were chosen through a contest, will work with Behala Nutan Dal theme-maker Ayan Saha. Where will they find such a platform? A German interactive media artist will also work at Town Hall which, like last year, will be a hub of Puja art-related activities. We want to showcase Durga puja as the biggest public art festival on earth and welcome people from all over the world to witness this spectacle. We have received confirmations from ambassadors of several countries. The regional head of Unesco has also been invited,” Maitra said.
Interestingly, Shreebhumi, which is one of the biggest crowd-pullers, has made it to the list this year for their traditional idol which is often adorned with gold or diamond jewellery.
“We had three international jury members who did the selection of the pujas — a Dutch museum curator, a Vietnamese artist who has worked on a puja pandal earlier and a Swiss public artiste,” said Maitra.
MassArt is also getting young art and architecture students and graphic artistes, to document what Durga puja means to them. “We might have an exhibition on their work at the end of the year, Bose said.
