Durga Puja inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the ICH of Humanity

This year Durga Puja will be extra special in Kolkata and for all Bengalis as the celebration has been inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by UNESCO. It is the 14th Indian event on the list, the others include Yoga, Vedic Chanting, Buddhist Chanting in Ladakh, Chau Dance, Ramlila, Navroz and Kumbh Mela to name a few.

While Kolkata's Durga Puja got the UNESCO inscription late last year, the formal functions are happening only now, with the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. Secretary of UNESCO's Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Culture Heritage, Tim Curtis and Eric Falt, who is director and representative of the UNESCO office in New Delhi attended a function at the National Museum in New Delhi on Saturday to celebrate the inscription. The UNESCO team will head to Kolkata next month, ahead of the start of the festival, to join the city's enthusiasm on getting the inscription.

Intangible cultural heritage means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated with them that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as a part of their cultural heritage. Furthermore, its importance is not in the cultural manifestation itself, but in the wealth of knowledge, know-how and skills that are transmitted from one generation to the next. With the inscription of Durga Puja in Kolkata, India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the prestigious UNESCO Representation List of ICH of Humanity. In recent years, the ICH elements that saw inscriptions are Kumbh Mela (inscribed 2017), Yoga (inscribed 2016) among others. India is a signatory of the 2003 UNESCO Convention which aims for the Safeguarding of the Intangible of the Intangible Heritage along with traditions and living expression.

A country can only submit one entry at a time. India, with 14 inscriptions, is among the leading nations. China has the maximum with over 30 inscriptions. Other countries with several ICH tags are Croatia, France, Peru and Japan. India shares the Navroz ICH tag with Iran and several other countries in Central Asia and which celebrate the Spring Equinox as Navroz. It is reported that India has submitted the Garba of Gujarat as its next entry for an ICH inscription.