Four day carnival of Durga Puja lights up in Kolkata

KOLKATA: The four day carnival of Durga Puja lights up the city and thousands throng the streets hopping from one pandal to the other worshipping goddess Durga। Kolkata explodes in a riot of colour. The euphoria that sets in during the four-day carnival brings both a resurgence of economy and faith. For the days that Durga is worshipped, Kolkata is transformed into a city enchanted.

Faith and economy are inexorably linked together with the Durga Puja। The commercialization of the Puja in West Bengal began in a big way in the 1960’s. Businessmen, from the industrialist to the hawker, saw in this annual event an opportunity to mint money.

The textile mills in Ahmedabad, Kanpur and Bombay design something new every year for customers for whom purchasing new clothes is a must in the festive season। Footwear is another important purchase for the average Bengali. While the Kanpur and the other leather units grab a chunk of the market, consumers also prefer shoes from multinational shoe companies. Innovative advertisements from companies before the Pujas have become an annual feature. The Bengali and the Hindi film industries also reserve their extravaganzas for this time of the year.

There is a proliferation of new VCDs and CDs. And sound and video equipment have a good market with manufacturers known to hold back their latest products for the Pujas.