Joy Roy Choudhury – Kolkata
The annual Durga Puja, the biggest festival in West Bengal culminated with a carnival-like immersion ceremony of the idols of 39 community Puja committees on the Red Road in Kolkata. Brainchild of the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, the show was hosted for the first time by the Government of West Bengal. The CM presided over the three-hour cultural show in the presence of her ministerial colleagues, foreign tourists, representatives of embassies, celebrities, domestic tourists and more than 10,000 general public.
The 39 puja committees who participated in the event are the recipients of the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman, 2016 instituted by the state government. The idols were displayed in tableaux format on trucks and trolleys before their immersion in the Hooghly river. Several organisers put up marquees aligned with current affairs. Their floats in the parade also reflected current themes like women empowerment, literacy drive, anti-terrorism etc.
“This Durga Puja carnival is the first step towards our goal of Biswa Bangla. We will grow bigger and bigger in future. We will present 75 Durga Puja tableaus next year and set up a permanent exhibition centre at New Town to showcase the artwork of Durga Puja pandals,” Banerjee said at the event.
Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Debjit Dutta, Chairman, IATO – West Bengal Chapter, said, “No doubt this yearly grand procession is truly an innovative effort and adds on as one of the prime attractions of the city of joy. This will certainly help us to position the Great Autumn Festival of Bengal in the global market.”
This event has been designed specially keeping in mind the visiting foreign and domestic tourists. The idea is to showcase Durga Puja as a major festival in this part of the country and attract more tourists to the state next year.