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Ayana Mukherjee, University of Delhi, IndiaAbstract
Durga Puja, a five-day ritualistic tradition turned urban spectacle, lies at the heart of Kolkata’s cultural heritage and collective identity. Besides having its religious justifications, the festival has now evolved into a complex web of social relationships interwoven with art, architecture, and performance. Owing its origin to the urban elites of the city, the festival has always acted as an exhibition of wealth and grandeur. In contemporary times, the construction of elaborate, temporary built environments (pandals) has served not only as a platform for artistic expression but also as a medium for disseminating social messages. However, what remains highly underexplored is the influence of urban political dynamics that have now appropriated the festival as a site of narrative-building and identity formation. Starting from the government of West Bengal providing financial aid to local clubs to extending the festival as a tourist attraction through themed carnivals and parades, there has been a gradual politicization of the very essence of the festival. The pandals are not only inaugurated by the chief minister, but also the government policies introduced by her become the very theme of the pandals themselves. Moreover, both the visual and the sonic landscape of the city get dominated with banners of accomplishments along with targeted audio messages. This paper tries to explore how the festival of Durga Puja, apart from being a tradition vested with artistic, cultural, and religious significance, eventually functions as a state-sponsored spectacle, thereby advancing the government’s political propaganda.
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