Kolkata Durga puja bags UNESCO heritage tag; Modi, Mamata hail move as 'proud moment'
Kolkata, Dec 15: The UNESCO on Wednesday accorded heritage status to Kolkata's Durga puja festival, bringing glory to the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lauding the move.
"Durga puja in Kolkata has just been inscribed on the intangible heritage list. Congratulations India," the organisation said in a tweet attaching a photo of the goddess with hashtag living heritage'.
Modi has hailed UNESCO's decision as a "matter of great pride and joy for every Indian".
"Durga Puja highlights the best of our traditions and ethos. And, Kolkata's Durga Puja is an experience everyone must have," he said.
The chief minister underlined that Durga puja was not just a festival, but an emotion.
"Proud moment for Bengal! To every #Bengali across the world, Durga Puja is much more than a festival, it is an emotion that unites everyone. And now, #DurgaPuja has been added to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. We are all beaming with joy!" she tweeted.
The Ministry of Culture, too, took to the microblogging platform to extend its wishes to the residents of the city on this achievement.
"Overjoyed that 'Durga Puja in Kolkata' joins the @UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Many congratulations! It is a confluence of the rich heritage and culture of the county's art, crafts, rituals and practices. Jai Maa Durga!" the ministry wrote.
The department of state information and cultural affairs in Bengal issued a statement to congratulate the people of the state as well as the country.
"The 16th Committee of UNESCO for safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in its meeting held on 15th December 2021 in Paris has inscribed Durga puja in Kolkata on the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," it said.
The department also noted that this was the "first festival in Asia" to get such recognition.
"It is a red letter day for us. In real sense Bengal is now Biswa Bangla. Our congratulations to all the people of Bengal, country and the world. We convey our thanks and gratitude to UNESCO for the recognition bestowed on this great festival as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," the statement maintained.
Suvaprasanna, the chairman of West Bengal Heritage Commission, said the annual Red Road carnival, which displays the craftsmanship that goes into the making of Durga Puja pandals, have made more people across the world aware of the grandeur that is synonymous with the festival.
"It was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who started the Red Road Carnival to showcase the art work, culture and traditions associated with the festival. Durga puja is being celebrated for decades, but the festival got a new dimension with the carnival," he stated.
Welcoming the development, indologist and academician Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri said Durga puja is a "universal festival" binding millions of people.
He, however, claimed that the festival should have been accorded the status much earlier.
The annual Red Road carnival, organised ahead of the immersion ceremony, was last held in 2019.
The event was cancelled this year as well as in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soumen Dutta, one of the officials of Forum for Durgotsab -- an apex body of community Durga puja committees in the city -- said organisers of the ten-day gala have finally got their due credit.
"Our hard work over the years has yielded desired result. The magnitude of Durga puja celebrations in Bengal has no parallel in the entire world," he underlined.
On its website, UNESCO said the "festival has come to signify home-coming or a seasonal return to one's roots .
"Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers. The festival is characterised by large-scale installations and pavilions in urban areas, as well as by traditional Bengali drumming and veneration of the goddess," it added.
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— UNESCO đī¸ #Education #Sciences #Culture đēđŗđˇ (@UNESCO) December 15, 2021
Durga Puja in Kolkata has just been inscribed on the #IntangibleHeritage list.
Congratulations #India đŽđŗ! đ
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— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 15, 2021
Proud moment for Bengal!
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 15, 2021
To every #Bengali across the world, Durga Puja is much more than a festival, it is an emotion that unites everyone.
And now, #DurgaPuja has been added to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
We are all beaming with joy!
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and TchouamÊni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
