Durga Puja of Kolkata’ gets World Heritage tag

Bengal’s biggest festival was inscribed on the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at a meeting of a Unesco committee in Paris. Durga Puja joins other Indian cultural practices and expressions, such as Kumbh Mela, Chhau dance from Bengal and Odisha, Sankirtana from Manipur, yoga, Ramlila, Buddhist chanting in Ladakh and Navroz on the ICH list. Globally, Baul songs of Bangladesh, Tango in Argentina and Uruguay, Samba de Rode and Frevo of Brazil, Royal Ballet of Cambodia, China’s Dragon Boat Festival and Flamenco of Spain are among those listed as ICH by Unesco. The news was greeted with euphoria. “A matter of great pride and joy for every Indian!...,” tweeted PM Narendra Modi. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee also tweeted her happiness: “Proud moment for Bengal! To every #Bengali across the world, Durga Puja is much more than a festival, it is an emotion that unites everyone...”