Every October, Kolkata becomes one of the largest public art festivals on earth. In 2021, UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A 2019 British Council study, commissioned for the West Bengal tourism department, estimated the creative economy around the festival at ₹32,377 crore, about 2.58% of the state’s GDP, with the pandal segment alone estimated at roughly ₹860 crore.

In my journey I feel that the Puja has acquired the status of an art exposition, a Biennale. On the one hand Shakti and Durga have brought out the exceptional talent and creativity of the Bengalis. On the other hand while I was sifting through my photographs I found that the Durga and her family have morphed. These idols are stunningly beautiful with almond shaped eyes, lustrous hair, lusciously painted lips. The lion changes into a horse, a unicorn and often is an ancillary prop. Mahishasura mostly a handsome guy meditating, in penance or kneeling asking for forgiveness, sometimes with ten hands. The buffalo is mostly supine quite lacking the ferocity it may have depicted in earlier times.

This benign form of the Goddess is pleasing, has a calming effect but I am a purist at heart. I like my textiles to have the authentic design and even Shakti somehow I keep rewinding to a form that is angry, glaring, posed menacingly over a ferocious demon. The lion mauling the petrified bull. There was blood and gore. I feel it symbolizes victory over evil better. The bad looked really evil and Durga in standing over Mahishasura is a powerful image to take home and imbibe. The purity of the soul, ahinsa, penance, forgiveness are laudable motives and need representation. However the dhaak beat rolls, consistently. The rhythm changes. Bodhon, Arati, Bisarjan. The beats stir up a longing to go see Ma. Ma leaves us with sadness, yet strong with hope. Things will be better in the world!

The colour, the whimsy the joy of our festival

Some Pics courtesy friends