Durga Puja receives UNESCO Heritage status; PM Modi calls it a 'matter of pride'
Durga Puja is an annual event held in several regions of the country, but most prominently in Kolkata.
Durga Puja receives UNESCO Heritage status
Durga Puja festival in Kolkata was granted heritage status by UNESCO, bringing great honour to the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee both applauded the decision.
For the uninitiated, Durga Puja is an annual event held in several regions of the country, but most prominently in Kolkata. It commemorates the goddess Durga's ten-day worship, which includes handcrafted sculptures of the goddess made from Ganga clay. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a tweet congratulated India saying, "Durga puja in Kolkata has just been inscribed on the intangible heritage list. Congratulations India," and attaching the goddess' picture.
Read UNESCO's tweet here:
Kolkata's Durga Puja being incorporated in UNESCO's list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity' is a matter of great pride for all Indians. Durga Puja was added to the list during the sixteenth session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage's annual convention, which was conducted online from December 13 to December 18. In a press release, UNESCO stated that the Durga Puja celebration has come to symbolise "home-coming" to one's roots. They also emphasised the fact that Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.
Greatly impressed by the development, PM Modi also penned down a congratulatory tweet. "A matter of great pride and joy for every Indian Durga Puja highlights the best of our traditions and ethos. And, Kolkata's Durga Puja is an experience everyone must have," he wrote.
Read PM Modi's tweet here:
On the other hand, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wrote on Twitter, "Proud moment for Bengal! To every #Bengali across the world, Durga Puja is much more than a festival, it is an emotion that unites everyone. And now, #DurgaPuja has been added to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We are all beaming with joy."