Kolkata O Durgapujo

Nothing captures the cultural landscape of Kolkata better than the Durgapujo. This book brings together certain salient features in terms of concept, design interventions, societal negotiations and the general atmosphere of celebration and collective cultural participation during the ideation, making and experience of Durgapujo in Kolkata.

The book covers the myths, symbolism and cultural nuances of Devi Durga, and elaborates the process of the pujo and its main events. It also describes how through the rearrangements, this is also a space for communication of important social messages. This is also a space for public art in its ultimate scale and manifestation. The book chronicles a historic transformation of the form and participation of the pujos - from wealthy noble families to the citywide phenomena it has now become. Finally, it talks about the linkages to arts and crafts that the event creates, describing how through temporal designs in the public realm the interventions act like magnets for people I and beyond the city.

This coffee table book is a result of the research by Anjan Mitra that also led to the publication of a book by the same name in Bengali, published by Anando Publishers.

Location: Kolkata
Client: HUTCH Telecom, India
Year: 2007