Durga Puja in Kolkata on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

• The Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 16th session being held at Paris, France from 13th to 18th December 2021.
• The Committee commended Durga Puja for its initiatives to involve marginalized groups, and individuals as well as women in their participation in safeguarding the element.

Durga Puja

• It is an annual festival celebrated in September or October, most notably in Kolkata, in West Bengal of India, but also in other parts of India and amongst the Bengali diaspora.
• It marks the ten-day worship of the Hindu mother-goddess Durga.
• In the months preceding the festival, small artisanal workshops sculpt images of Durga and her family using unfired clay pulled from the Ganga River.
• The worship of the goddess then begins on the inaugural day of Mahalaya, when eyes are painted onto the clay images to bring the goddess to life. It ends on the tenth day, when the images are immersed in the river from where the clay came.
• Thus, the festival has also come to signify ‘home-coming’ or a seasonal return to one’s roots.
• Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.
• During the event, the divides of class, religion and ethnicities collapse as crowds of spectators walk around to admire the installations.

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

• It was adopted in the General Conference of UNESCO in 2003.
• The aim of the Convention is to promote the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, ensure respect for the intangible cultural heritage of communities, groups, and individuals and raise awareness of the importance of intangible cultural heritage.
• So far 172 states have ratified the Convention.

UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

• The UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity comprises the diverse cultural practices and expressions of humanity, and seeks to raise awareness of the importance of such practices and expressions, encourage dialogue that respects cultural diversity, as well as give due recognition to the practices and expressions of communities worldwide.
• Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects.
• It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.
• With the inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata, India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the prestigious UNESCO Representative List of ICH of Humanity.

List of Heritage elements in India

• Durga Puja in Kolkata

• Kumbh Mela

• Novruz

• Yoga

• Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India

• Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur

• Buddhist chanting of Ladakh

• Chhau dance

• Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan

• Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala

• Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas, India

• Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre

• Tradition of Vedic chanting

• Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana