India Holds Celebrations To Mark Inclusion Of Durga Puja In UNESCO List

India staged a gathering on Saturday to commemorate the UNESCO designation given to Kolkata’s Durga Puja festival in December and to reiterate its dedication to safeguarding and preserving the vast intangible cultural heritage.

Top UNESCO officials attended the event at the National Museum in this city and complimented India for its famous landmarks, rich history, and unique living heritage. Durga Puja in Kolkata was recently included to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. During its 16th session, which was held in Paris, France, it was given the honour.

The Committee has praised Durga Puja for its efforts to include individuals, marginalised groups, and women in their engagement in protecting the element.

“We are assembled here to commemorate the inclusion of Durga Puja in UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is the 14th ICH element to have been inscribed on the list,” said Lily Pandeya, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, which organised the event.

The 10-day event, which will begin the last week of the following month, symbolises “feminine’shakti’ (power).” In her speech, she emphasised the “time-tested partnership” between India and UNESCO and traced the history of the nation’s connections to the outside world.

UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage recently chose India as one of its members.

Tim Curtis, the secretary of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Eric Falt, the director and UNESCO representative of the UNESCO New Delhi Office, were both in attendance on the dais.

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