December 23, 2018
Kolkata Poush Utsav 2018 at Newtown from today
For the first time, Poush Utsav will be celebrated in Kolkata. The event will be inaugurated today in Newtown, and will continue till December 30. It will start at 12 noon and end at 9 PM everyday. Entry to the event is free.
It is being organised jointly by Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), West Bengal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (WBSRLM) and a private organisation.
It may be mentioned in this regard that the most famous Poush Mela in the country is held every December in Santiniketan, and the Kolkata Poush Utsav is an effort to enable people to get an idea of what all such a celebration entails.
The event is being endorsed by Anandadhara, a scheme which is part of the WBSRLM. On sale at the event would be creative handicrafts and handloom products by 30 women entrepreneurs representing self-help groups (SHG) from seven districts – Birbhum, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia and Paschim Medinipur.
This is to promote and encourage the leadership and marketing skills in these women to ensure dignity while earning a decent livelihood.
Besides the handicrafts and handloom products on display and sale, the event will feature cultural programmes, a food pavilion, an art installation and fireworks display.
The cultural programmes will feature eminent folk artistes, dancers, poets, elocutionists and others. An art installation will be set up by an eminent artist on the lawns of Rabindra Tirtha to pay tribute to Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The unique themed food pavilion will feature traditional delicacies, sweets and Christmas confectionaries. A wonderful fireworks display will conclude the week-long celebration.
Source: The Times of India
Image Source: Flickr
