Abstract
Public events are essential to a city’s life. They can also be described as temporal acts that take place briefly yet contribute to the establishment and maintenance of the city’s associative memories. One such public event that occurs in every autumn in the city of Kolkata and its surrounding areas is Durga puja, also called Sharodiya Durgotsav. Through the concrete elements of human expression in art, architecture, art installations and image creation, this intangible extravaganza is produced that fazes the spectators, showcasing a vibrant urban transformation. Other intangible elements such as shared values, aesthetics, cultural traditions, spiritual realizations, empathy and a renewed sense of connection to mother nature are also maintained. Considering all these factors, this ethnographic study canvases the transition in the design aspects of Kolkata’s framed Durga puja. It further explores how the evolving artistic identities and forms might be used as a prism to see the festival’s visual culture. To investigate on this temporal transfiguration which offers a complex artistic opportunity, establishing and preserving a community’s cultural expression and activities such a study was adopted. This study serves as symbols of universal values and emphasize the intangible cultural heritage through place-making, suitable image formation and embedded symbolism.
Presenters
Sourav BhattacharyaStudent, PHD, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
DURGA PUJA, INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE, IDOL MAKING, PANDAL MAKING
