The UNESCO on Wednesday accorded heritage status to West Bengal’s Durga Puja festival. “Durga Puja in Kolkata has just been inscribed on the intangible heritage list. Congratulations India,” the UN agency posted on Twitter with a picture of an idol of the goddess attached to it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi further shared UNESCO’s tweet, lauding the achievement as “A matter of great pride and joy for every Indian”.
In a thank-you message delivered at the “16th Session of the Intergovernmental meeting of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in UNESCO, Paris”, Vishal V. Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, said: “On behalf of the people of India, and Indian origin people from all over the world, I thank the member states that have supported India’s nomination of Durga Puja in Kolkata to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the ICH Secretariat. I thank the member states like Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Togo, Cameroon, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Panama, Jamaica, Botswana, Poland, South Korea. And other states that supported us were Brazil and Peru. It is a victory of the artisans, clay sculptors and Durga Puja Committee organisers. It is a victory of the big and the small. Durga is the feminine divine that transcends boundaries and is cross-cultural. In India, we have an ancient Sanskrit saying from the Rg Veda, ‘Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti’ (which means, the Truth is one, wise call it by various names). In India, the feminine divine is known as Maa Durga, Maa Shakti, Maa Prakriti and other names. She epitomises the divine in every woman and every girl-child. Maa Durga belongs not just to India but to entire humanity. We thank our Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi for inspiring us to get this wonderful festival of Indian culture inscribed for humanity. I now invite you to come to India and visit Kolkata to see the beautiful Durga Puja festival.”
The decision came during the 16th session, taking place virtually from 13-18 December this year.
The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity includes “forms of expression that testify to the diversity of intangible heritage and raises awareness of its importance”.
Eric Falt, the director UNESCO New Delhi, said in a press statement: “I would like to offer warm congratulations to India, its people and especially all those who worked on the nomination dossier. I am confident that this inscription will offer encouragement to the local communities that celebrate Durga Puja, including all the traditional craftspeople, designers, artists, and organizers of large-scale cultural events, as well as tourists and visitors who partake in the inclusive festivity that is Durga Puja.”
The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity has 492 elements currently. According to a press release, it includes “forms of expression that testify to the diversity of intangible heritage and raises awareness of its importance”. UNESCO intends to enhance the “visibility of communities’ cultural practices and know-how”, aiming to “safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of communities globally”. Durga Puja is a five-day festival which begins on the fifth night of the nine-day Navratri festival and ends on the tenth day, which is Dashami. During this time, people collectively worship and invoke Goddess Durga, who is regarded as the feminine energy of the cosmos, also known as “Shakti”.