Ramblings of a 70-year old: cultural heritage

Showing posts with label cultural heritage. Show all posts

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Durga Puja 2022 is over and the mega carnival will bring down the curtains

All the action will happen on the Red Road. There will be a mega rally of around 99 Durga Puja organizers. They will display their skills and thrill the crowds with their performances. The selection to this elite club is based on winners of the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman 2022. UNESCO has bestowed a cultural heritage tag on the festival and the organizers have worked round-the-clock to showcase their idols for the big-ticket event. Last month, the government of West Bengal organized a mega rally to felicitate a delegate from UNESCO. In order to ensure smooth operation of the program, the Kolkata Police have issued guidelines. The Kolkata Police have also imposed certain restrictions on the traffic movement for the gala show. With 99 Pujas and 3 minutes allotted for each, it will be a long duration event. It would go on for nearly 300 minutes or 5 hours. Red Road readied for Carnival on Saturday. This importance of this performance stems from the fact that not only will Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee be present, but also that the entire world will be watching.

As per the guidelines of the Police, each committee can bring in three tableaus. The maximum height of the idol (while on the trailer) should be less than 16 feet to avoid collision with electric and telephone wires. Clubs with taller idols can opt for alternate routes. All participants must reach Red Road by 11am on Saturday and the carnival would start at 4pm. Obviously, there would be traffic diversion around the Red Road and movement of goods vehicles will be restricted within the city after 3pm on Saturday.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

It is festival time in Kolkata with Navratri and Durga Puja

West Bengal and its capital Kolkata are famous for the large-scale, opulent pujas. The organizers work night and day to present artistic creations that attract people from not just different parts of Bengal and from all over the country, but even globally. This has been made possible because of the recognition accorded by UNESCO in 2021. It has granted recognition in the form of Heritage Status to 'Durga Puja in Kolkata.' This is inscribed in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Those who plan a trip to Kolkata during the festival can expect memorable experiences of gorging on yummy food, praying to Goddess Durga, pandal hopping, and loving every bit of the festivities. These are what Durga puja is all about. Eat, pray, love! 5 things to do while visiting Kolkata during Durga Puja 2022; visit THESE top 20 pandals. It has to be remembered that pandal hopping translates into crowds and hot and humid surroundings. It is better to wear comfortable footwear because you might have to walk long distances and remain in queue for a long time to get a darshan of the idols and the magnificent pandals.

There is a craze among some people to visit 'Bonedi bari' puja. These are family pujas dating back to centuries and involve aristocratic households. There is no commercialization and they do not go in for glamor and glitz of the baroyari pujas. The number of such families is few and the uniqueness is that on this annual festival, members of the family come together from far corners of the world. These turn out to be unforgettable homecomings. Of course, food lovers enjoy street foods, sweets and eating out at the city's famous restaurants. From fuchka (or the gol gappa or pani puri) to jhal muri (puffed rice with special spices) and the famous Kolkata roll – the list is a long one. In many restaurants, food lovers may have to wait in queues for their turn.

Durga Puja from outside India and within –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tourist hotels in Puri, Darjeeling and Digha –

GosaniYatra or The Durga Puja of Puri

Darjeeling hotels brim with tourists

How Can You Enjoy Durga Puja At Affordably Priced Hotel In Digha?

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Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Mamata distances herself from Partha, throws her weight behind Anubrata

Politics is a strange game and those who belong to this community enjoy it as long as feasible. In Bengal, it is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who calls the shots. She overthrew the Left Front government and came to power. Gradually, she used her unique tactics to win over the people and make use of every available opportunity to promote her programs. She deserves credit for large-scale diversification, beautification and innumerable innovations. Obviously, she had to rely on local leaders and some of them went in for underhand dealings. Mamata Banerjee, popularly known as Didi (sister) is a multi-faceted personality and a woman who is an artist, a poet and an orator par excellence. She did reprimand the erring grassroots workers m from time to time and had to have a strong man to keep a check on erring workers. Anubrata Mondal was one such individual. Therefore, when the CBI arrested him, Mamata-didi blew her top. Mamata comes out in support of Anubrata. She refused to accept the fact that Anubrata could be involved in cattle smuggling. That gave a boost to his ego.

However, a few days earlier, the ED arrested another of Mamata’s men. He was Partha Chatterjee, a Minister who held several other portfolios. At that time, Mamata-didi did not stand by him. In fact, she removed him from all posts and literally threw him to the wolves. Obviously, Partha felt bad because he had played an important role in promoting the Durga Puja. This helped Bengal bag the prestigious UNESCO Cultural Heritagee award. It was a feather in the cap of Mmata-didi. However, she chose to remain silent and Partha Chatterjee did not get her support. Both arrests were made by agencies of the central government. The Central Bureau of Investigation CBI arrested Anubrata Mondal while the Enforcement Directorate ED arrested Partha Chatterjee. Both agencies have to rely on evidence and intelligence from the local investigation agencies. That is a difficult task. Hence, conviction is usually a dream. It is all a game and everyone has to play his part.