Days before the Durga Puja festival begins, a preview show of festival art began in Kolkata on Wednesday, with an opening ceremony at the city’s iconic Town Hall. From a traditional Chhau dance depicting Goddess Durga, her four children, and her battle with the demon, shola art and pat paintings used to decorate pandals were all part of an open air exhibition. The Ambassadors of several countries were present at the inauguration which, along with the exhibition, provides access to about 26 Durga Puja locations in the city, where visitors can take a peek into pandals before the festival begins.
The exhibition has been organised by massArt, a Kolkata-based company, with the British Council as its international partner. The Durga Puja in Kolkata was in December 2021 accorded a place on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This year, UNESCO has listed massArt’s 2023 preview show of Durga Puja art as part of its 20th anniversary celebration of the convention for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage to be held in Paris later in the year.
