As Kolkata prepares for its biggest festival, Durga Puja, the entire city has decked itself up in hues of all colours with fairylights glimmering all along.

The calls of the shankh and the curled tenor of the Ululudhvani are only awaiting us for a couple of days, when the yellow taxis will start hobnobbing towards Maddox Square the moment the clock strikes 12. Its effects will also be seen across the gilded streets of Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and all the other major cities in India.

However, this time around in the City of Joy, it’s not just Durga Puja that they will be celebrating. The celebrations will also entail the 150th Anniversary of the Kolkata Tramline, being the only major city in India still with a fully functioning tram system, embroidered with murals of another cause for celebration — UNESCO’s recognition of Durga Puja as one of India’s “Intagible Cultural Heritage”.

Pandals focus on a variety of themes, from the historical to the surreal, the festival has accounted for all. The fact of the puja has always been to acknowledge and celebrate the divine female power. To highlight that we can recount how Ram had prayed to Durga for success in battle with Lanka’s Ravan. It was, thus, with the blessings of the goddess that he was able to triumph over the Shiva devotee.

Anjan Ukil, joint secretary of Ballygunge Cultural, says, “Now people are keen to see newness. Previously pujas like Bagbajar Sarbojanin had the same idol and pandal framework. Today, people are looking for distinction. Without distinction advertisers, sponsors don’t come forth. Earlier we used to gather chanda (donation from neighbourhood homes) and organise puja. Now, that is a thing of the past because pujas have such high budgets that chanda does not suffice. So, we are entirely dependent on advertisements.”

One such pandal has decided to construct itself made entirely of darkness. The lightplay accompanies the spread of shadows that occupies the lengths of this pandal. The Tala Prattoy pandal has made something absolutely unthinkable as visitors here, supposedly, will not be able to see anything beyond 10ft from them.

Famous Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho has also arrived in Kolkata for a two-day visit. Ronaldinho will also inaugurate a Durga Puja pandal.

Presently, according to an MoU signed between the government of West Bengal and British Council in 2019, the creative industries around Durga Puja in West Bengal was estimated to be at Rs 32,377 crore.

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