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On December 15, 2021 UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata' on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 16th session, that took place virtually from December 13 to 18. "As a ten-day celebration, Durga Puja represents the collective worship of the Hindu Goddess Durga. During this time, masterfully designed clay models of the Goddess are worshipped in "pandals" or pavilions where communities get together and celebrate. Several folk music, culinary, craft, and performing arts traditions add to the dynamism of this celebration, according to UNESCO.

As many as 36,946 community pujas are organised across the state every year. Of these, around 2,500 are held in Kolkata.

In recent years, several organisations had urged UNESCO to recognise the festival.

“Durga Puja occupies the heart of every Bengali. Mamata Banerjee has made the best efforts to promote the festival as a national event. She has given a grant of ?50,000 to each of the clubs and also held the carnival. Her efforts and that of the puja organisers have succeeded,” senior Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy said.

State Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the UNESCO’s recognition was a gift for millions of Bengalis.

“This is a recognition for a culture that has been inculcated and built over several centuries. The UNESCO has recognized the superlative emotion behind the celebrations,” he said.

Yoga as an “ancient India practice” and the Kumbh Mela, considered the world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims, were inscribed on the list in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the UNESCO list.

Credit : The Hindustan Times

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On December 14, 2021, UNESCO inscribed Arabic calligraphy a key tradition in the Arab and Islamic worlds on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A total of 16 Muslim-majority countries, led by Saudi Arabia, had earlier presented the nomination to UNESCO, "Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting Arabic script in a fluid manner to convey harmony, grace and beauty.

The practice, which can be passed down through formal and informal education, uses the twenty-eight letters of the Arabic alphabet written in cursive, from right to left. Originally intended to make writing clear and legible, it gradually became an Islamic Arab art for traditional and modern works. The fluidity of Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even in a single word, as letters can be stretched and transformed in numerous ways to create different motifs, according to UNESCO.

Abdelmajid Mahboub from the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society, which was involved in the proposal, said calligraphy "has always served as a symbol of the Arab-Muslim world".

But he lamented that "many people no longer write by hand due to technological advances", adding that the number of specialised Arab calligraphic artists had dropped sharply.

The UNESCO listing "will certainly have a positive impact" on preserving the tradition, he added.

According to UNESCO, intangible cultural heritage "is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalisation".

Its importance "is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next".

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In October 2021, Geographical Indication (GI) tags were issued by the Chennai registry for 51 new products, including a German beer (Muncener Bier). Italian veined blue cheese (gorgonzola), plant resin (Chios Mastiha) from Greece, and a variety of seed cone (zatecky chmel) from the Czech Republic. As many as nine products in the latest list, including Banaras hand block print and Manu saree were from Uttar Pradesh. Kumaon chyura oil and Ringal craft were from Uttarkhand.

Meanwhile, five products in Tamil Nadu earned the GI tags- Kanyakumari clove. Thanjavur Netti works. Karuppur Kalamkari paintings, and wood carvings of Arumbavur and Kallakurichi Kuttiattoor mango and Edayur chilli from Kerala, and Lahauli knitted socks and gloves, and Chamba chappal from Himachal Pradesh too were part of the list. Others included telia rumal of Telangana, Sojat mehndi of Rajasthan, Manjush art of Bihar, Sohrai-Khovar painting of Jharkhand, Mizo ginger of Mizoram, and Dalle Khursani of Sikkim.

Kuttiattoor Mango, Edayur chilli is on the list from Kerala while Lahauli Knitted Socks and Gloves and Chamba chappal got GI tag from Himachal Pradesh.

Other new entrants to the GI club include Telia Rumal of Telangana, Sojat Mehndi of Rajasthan, Manjush Art of Bihar, Sohrai-Khovar painting of Jharkhand, Mizo Ginger of Mizoram, Dalle Khursani of Sikkim, among others.

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The Haridwar Kumbh Mela happened from April 1 to 30, 2021, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The Kumbh Mela Force, a government body, said at least 9.1 million pilgrims took the holy dip in the Ganga from January 14 till April.

The mega event was widely criticised for rampant violation of Covid-19 protocols and massive overcrowding during an alarming surge in cases that inundated hospitals and sparked critical shortages of medical supplies. The highest gathering of 3.5 million was reported for the Somvati Amavasya holy dip on April 12. The Kumbh Mela at Haridwar is held every 12 years.

Haridwar District Magistrate (DM) and officer in-charge of the Kumbh Mela, Deepak Rawat said, "We are appealing to the people and making them aware about Covid-19 safety protocol. We are asking people to wear masks but ensuring social distancing in this very small area (where the Kumbh Mela is being held) is going to be a really challenging task."

The Haridwar Kumbh Mela is being held at a time when India is battered by the second wave of Covid-19. For more than a week now, the country has been reporting more than 1 lakh cases every day. The highest was on Monday when India reported over 1.68 lakh cases.

Several states have imposed night curfews and other restrictions to break the chain of transmission. There are reports of states facing shortage of Covid-19 vaccines and hospital beds for Covid-19 patients.

Credit : India Today

Picture Credit : Google