Registered by the UN Cultural Agency, UNESCO, in 2021 as an element of intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Durga Puja is not just a festival, it is an act of reimagination throughout the city, one that resonates with the Bengali diaspora and others throughout the world.
During some autumn nights, the city of Kolkata (and other parts of Western Bengal) became an outdoor gallery where local communities build dazzling temporal temples or PandalKumartoli artisans sculpt the goddess of River Clay, drummers (Dhaakis) Role the thunder through the streets, and millions wander from a dream landscape illuminated to the next.
The festivities came to an end on Thursday.
Festival attendees visit a Durga Pandal Puja in Kolkata.
What seems like a show is actually a community in motion: local clubs that collect funds, families such as volunteers, artisans who collaborate and the entire local economies that reach life around food, lights, music and art.
The families map their “Pandal-Salpting” routes, the musicians establish the rhythm, the food stalls weave the city and the city itself becomes a stage. All kinds of divisions (class, caste, ethnicity, in this city of the millions of reimbursements, melt.
UNESCO recognition
Unesco acknowledged the Durga Puja, which bears the name of the Hindu Durga goddess, in 2021 describing it as “the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and a prosperous terrain for collaborative artists and designers.”
As Tim Curtis, representative of UNESCO in India, explained: “Encarna the Sarbojonin spirit,” for all people “, which has defined community worship since 1926. From clay sculptors to drummers, designers and local organizers, the entire city contributes to one of the most vibrant cultural expressions in the world.”
This is an inheritance not locked in monuments, but alive in practice, passed by hand through crafts, reinvented every year with new issues and binding communities throughout class, faith and language.
Durga Puja is also a creative economy power. A 2019 study estimated that the festival industries generate $ 4.53 billion, 2.58 percent of Western Bengal GDP.
Art with a message
For Shombi SharpUnited Nations Resident Coordinator in India, This year he marked his first visit to the Centenary Pandal that now highlights sustainable agriculture, highlighting the broader importance of sustainable development objectives.
UN resident coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp visits a Durga Pandal Puja in Kolkata, India.
He said UN news“You normally see the goddess Durga defeating evil: here the” evil “is insecitable agricultural and agricultural practices. Behind me is an exhibition with 280 varieties of east rice and northeast of India. That is, 12-13 million visitors who are exposed to powerful messages about organic agriculture, biodiversity and sustainability.”
Another headline is a Pandal with theme Ai-Ai that fuses devotion to digital imagination. The goddess Durga appears in her traditional form: ten arms and a lion, while the backdrop explodes with circuit plate patterns, bright data flows and neon light.
The point is clear: faith and technology can coexist; even in a futuristic framework.
Visitors’ reactions reflect this mixture of amazement and caution. One Kolkata’s 30 -year laboratory technician, said Nupur Hajara “The more positively people receive, the better. If they take it negatively, that will not help, right?”
The figures made with electronic waste material are shown in a pandal or temple.
He is professional, said Sumitam Shom: “Durga Puja is our greatest and most special festival, and now the AI ​​is part of the conversation. It can do a lot of good, but there are also risks, especially fraud. Deep defects and viral images are real concerns. Without safeguards, someone could misuse photos and deceive people. So, it is crucial that we use these technologies in a responsible way.”
Add a different urgency record, Another pandal with the theme of “Shabdo” (“Sound”) It is striking for its moving focus on the sounds of nature that are going to go (squeaky birds, whisper leaves, croador frogs) captured through immersive and sensory design.
A meditation on nostalgia
It was a meditation on environmental loss and nostalgia, asking what it means so that the sounds of nature inside a city become quieter as habitats shrink.
Raja, a Pandal visitor, In a nutshell: “You hardly see birds. My grandfather used to tell me how common they were; now they are rare, in part, we believe, due to the impacts on the mobile network. This pandal is our way of waking the community, to learn to bring the birds back and start working on it.”
Many other Pandals also echo urgent social issues. One honors acid attack survivors, not only creating awareness but celebrate their dignity and contributions. Another highlights water conservation.
A Puja Pandal explores the issue of bird sounds in urban areas.
For young visitors too, messages resonate. Tisa, an 18 -year -old student in a pandal dedicated to water conservation, reflected that “groundwater is being exhausted day by day. This is the best way to spread awareness to the public.”
Causing the bid to be accessible to all
Durga Puja is also taking a step towards inclusion.
In June 2025, UNESCO and the UN in India, who work with organizations of people with disabilities, launched comprehensive accessibility guidelines for the organizers of the festival.
The results are visible on the ground. The ramps and designs without barriers relieve mobility, braille signaling and interpreters in the language language expand communication, and the areas of quiet seats provide people to rest.
As Shombi Shombi of the UN recalled, “we listened to a father who, for the first time in 17 years, could bring his daughter, a wheelchair user, to celebrate Durga Puja. That was an incredibly emotional moment.”