It’s just been three years since the Puja Carnival is being held in Kolkata after Durga Puja, but even within this short time span the carnival, which is the brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gets mentioned in the same breath as some of the world’s best carnivals like France’s ‘Royal De Luxe’, Spain’s ‘La Tomatina’, and Brazil’s ‘Rio Carnival’.
The excitement and the extravaganza have not gone unnoticed by people and media abroad also. More than a thousand journalists, photographers, technicians from across around 30 countries have gathered in Kolkata this year to cover the carnival. The event is getting covered in National Geographic also.
A total of 75 participants are participating in the Carnival this year. Two separate galleries facing each other have been built temporarily on both sides of the Red Road- one for the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and senior government officials and the other is for the foreign delegates. The stages are the exact replica of Sovabazar Rajbari Natmandir.
Ambassadors of 13 countries will be present today in the carnival to witness the event live. The government has already made a contract with London’s Thames Festival Trust to showcase Durga Puja in the festival and their officials will also be present today at the carnival.
Separate arrangements have also been made for the visitors coming to watch the carnival. Large LED screens have been installed across the city to make it easy for the commuters to take a glance at the screens. Besides NatGeo, the entire program will also get aired on multiple media outlets and television channels in the state.
A large number of tourists including foreign internationals have arrived in Kolkata to experience the carnival this year. Kolkata saw a 33 per cent upsurge in the number of local and foreign tourists around the carnival last year. The number is likely to increase further this year, according to the travel companies, hotels and homestays.
Kolkata’s prominent Puja committees will showcase the rich religious and cultural heritage of Bengal in the Red Road today. Some of the highly successful and acclaimed state government projects such as Kanyashree, Yuboshree will also be showcased through decorated tableaus moving down the road.
A group of female drummers will be present to rock the event.
