Inclusion, sustainability, and creativity at Durga Puja

Durga Puja, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 as an element of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, transforms India’s state of West Bengal into the world’s largest public art festival — an immersive blend of worship, art, and social messaging.

Durga Puja isn’t just a festival — it’s a city-wide act of imagination, and one that reverberates with the Bengali diaspora and others around the world. For a few autumn nights, Kolkata and parts of West Bengal turn into an open-air gallery where neighbourhoods build dazzling temporary temples (pandals), artisans from Kumartoli sculpt the goddess from river clay, drummers (dhaakis) roll thunder through the streets, and millions wander from one illuminated dreamscape to the next.

This grand spectacle is actually community in motion: local clubs raising funds, families volunteering, craftspeople collaborating, and entire local economies springing to life around food, lights, music, and art. Families map their ‘pandal-hopping’ routes, musicians set the rhythm, food stalls weave the city together, and the city itself becomes a stage. All kinds of divisions – class, caste, ethnicity — in this city of teeming millions, melt away.

Durga is among the powerful female figures in the Hindu pantheon of gods, often depicted as riding a lion. The symbolism runs deep. Durga’s victory over evil is celebrated, yes – but so is community over isolation, creativity over routine, and collaboration over hierarchy.

UNESCO recognition

In December 2021, UNESCO placed Kolkata’s Durga Puja on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, describing it as “the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.”

As Tim Curtis, UNESCO Representative in India, explained, “It embodies the Sarbojonin spirit (for all people) that has defined community worship since 1926. From clay sculptors to drummers, designers to local organizers, the entire city contributes to one of the most vibrant cultural expressions in the world.”

This is heritage not locked away in monuments but alive in practice, passed hand-to-hand through craftsmanship, reimagined every year with new themes, and binding communities across class, faith, and language. 

Durga Puja is also a creative economy powerhouse. A 2019 study estimated the festival’s industries generate USD 4.53 billion, or about 2.58% of West Bengal’s GDP.

Art with a message

In Kolkata, United Nations in India Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp visited a number of pandals, including one with a focus on sustainable agriculture. “Normally you see Goddess Durga defeating evil, but here the ‘evil’ is pesticides and unsustainable farming practices. Behind me stands a display with 280 rice varieties from eastern and northeastern India. That’s 12-13 million visitors being exposed to powerful messages about organic agriculture, biodiversity, and sustainability,” he said. 

Another headline-grabber this year is an AI-themed pandal that fuses devotion with digital imagination. Goddess Durga appears in her traditional form while the backdrop bursts with circuit-board patterns, glowing data streams, and neon light. Robotic figures and LED structures flank the entrance; the inner walls display AI-generated images of Durga, mixing old religious art with new technology.

The point is clear: faith and technology can co-exist; even in a futuristic frame, the core message — Goddess Durga’s triumph over evil remains intact.

Visitor reactions mirror this blend of wonder and caution. Nupur Hajara, a 30-year-old lab technician from Kolkata said, “The more positively people receive AI, the better. If they take it negatively, that won’t help, right? It’s something different, and I liked it. It felt refreshing to see something new.”

“Durga Puja is our biggest, most special festival — and now AI is part of the conversation. It can do a lot of good, but there are risks too, especially fraud. Deepfakes and viral images are real concerns. Without safeguards, someone could misuse photos and deceive people. So it’s crucial that we use these technologies responsibly,” said IT professional Sumitam Shom.

Adding a different register of urgency, another pandal with the theme of ‘Shabdo’ (‘Sound’) drew attention for its poignant focus on the vanishing sounds of nature — chirping birds, rustling leaves, croaking frogs — captured through immersive, sensory design. It was a meditation on environmental loss and nostalgia, asking what it means for a city to grow quieter as habitats shrink.

Raja, an organiser, put it simply, “We chose this theme because you barely see birds anymore. My grandfather used to tell me how common they were; now they’re rare - partly, we believe, due to mobile network impacts. This pandal is our way to wake up the community: to learn how to bring the birds back and to start working on it together.”

Other pandals echo urgent social themes: One honours acid attack survivors, raising awareness and celebrating their dignity and contributions. Another highlights water conservation. 

The messages resonate with young visitors too. “Groundwater is depleting day by day. This is the best way to spread awareness to the public,” said Tisa, an 18-year-old student at a pandal dedicated to water conservation. 

Making Puja accessible to all

This Durga Puja in Kolkata also marks a leap towards inclusivity. In June 2025, UNESCO and the UN in India launched comprehensive accessibility guidelines for festival organizers following consultations with organizations of persons with disabilities.

The resulting Standard Operating Procedures cover six areas ranging from physical infrastructure and communication to volunteer training and safety, ensuring that accessibility is not an afterthought but built into design.

The results are visible on the ground. Ramps and barrier-free layouts ease mobility, Braille signage and sign-language interpreters expand communication, and quiet seating areas provide dignity to those who need rest. 

Mr. Sharp recalls: “We heard from a father who, for the first time in 17 years, was able to bring his daughter, a wheelchair user, to celebrate Durga Puja. That was an incredibly emotional moment.”

Mr. Curtis linked this to a broader principle, “Cultural participation is not a privilege but a human right. India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and its commitments under the UN Convention guarantee equal access to cultural life. Durga Puja shows what that looks like in practice.”

A living laboratory for the SDGs

Durga Puja in Kolkata is more than worship. It is ritual, performance, public art, local economy, and civic imagination — all blending into one shared act. It is also a living laboratory for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), translating abstract ideas into tangible experience: sustainable agriculture, disability inclusion, gender equality, dignity in diversity.

As Mr. Sharp puts it, “If you’re just talking about statistics, that’s one thing. But here, it’s living, breathing, alive — people interacting with the goddess, with the installations, with the messages. Everybody gains when inclusion, sustainability, and creativity comes together.

Durga Puja is proof that heritage is not only about the past, it is also about shaping the future.

Compiled by UN News Hindi. Click here to read the Hindi version