Opinion | Political Demons Need To Be Vanquished From Kolkata’s Durga Pujas

Bengal’s Durga Pujas must vanquish their political demons so as to regain their sanctity and truly represent our collective Intangible Cultural Heritage

The seamy side of the iconic Durga Puja festivities in Kolkata (if not all of West Bengal) is now also coming to light after the change of government in the state. After UNESCO gave the state’s marquee festival the tag of an Intangible Cultural Heritage, hopes were raised about the primarily four-day festival becoming a prime tourist attraction. But it now seems that it also may have led to some people making a fast buck, piggybacking on this international recognition.

One aspect of the current trajectory of Durga Puja has always been a source of discomfiture for many: its promotion as primarily a socio-cultural event rather than a religious one. Whereas the truth lies somewhere in between—a religio-cultural celebration—for decades, now it is deliberately being promoted as a sort of multi-venue installation, art and food-and-music ‘autumn’ (sharodiya) festival, pushing aside its deeply devotional religio-cultural moorings.

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In keeping with this narrative begun by the Communist Left Front during its 34-year rule and carried forward by the three-term Trinamool Congress, many of the ritualistic precepts of Durga Puja were sidelined to capitalise on the festivity. So much so that many Bengalis (particularly urban) under the age of 50 grew up conditioned to think the same. Nothing about sarbojanin........

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