Kolkata, Sep 1 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday led a colourful rally here to thank UNESCO for according the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) tag to the greatest festival of Bengalis — Durga Puja.
Representatives of around 1,200 Durga Puja committees joined the rally that began in the Jorasanko area in north Kolkata and concluded on Red Road.
The TMC supremo was accompanied by party colleagues Firhad Hakim, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Aroop Biswas and Shashi Panja.
“I would like to thank UNESCO for according ICH tag to Durga Puja. Today onwards, our festivities begin for a month. I welcome people from all walks of life to participate in the rally, and thank everyone watching this rally from around the world,” she said.
Earlier, before the rally commenced, Banerjee described Durga Puja as an “emotion” for Bengalis that unites people above “parochial barriers”.
“Durga Puja is an emotion that rises above parochial barriers and brings us together. It unites the magnificence of art with spirituality. We thank UNESCO for recognising Durga Puja as an intangible cultural heritage and honouring the labour of love of everyone involved,” she tweeted.
At the concluding programme on Red Road, Banerjee handed over an earthen idol of Goddess Durga to the representatives of UNESCO.
She maintained, “I would say religion may be personal, but celebration of festivals is universal. I will again thank UNESCO for this recognition.” Former India skipper and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly joined the thanksgiving programme there and delivered a speech remembering his experiences and association with the festival.
The CM then invited the UNESCO representatives, Éric Falt and Tim Cartis, to the annual carnival after ‘Dashami’.
“I have also heard that on September 24 they (representatives from different international agencies) will be visiting some Puja pandals,” she said.
On the occasion, she also felicitated historian Tapati Guha Thakurta, former director and honorary professor of the Center for Studies in Social Sciences, for leading a research work that helped the city earn the coveted UNESCO tag.
Participants in the rally here, dressed in traditional outfits, were seen playing ‘dhak’, flute, singing puja hymns and dancing during the day.
Similar rallies were organised in other districts. PTI SCH RMS RMS
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