DISCOVER THE INTANGIBLE HERITAGE OF WEST BENGAL’S CULTURE AND TRADITIONS WITH IHCL
~ Unique collaboration with UNESCO includes a curated experience in line with UNESCO’s listing of Durga Puja as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’
KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022:
Long heralded as the custodians of Indian heritage, the history of Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, is tightly woven into the fabric of India’s rich culture. Led by the values of Paathya–IHCL’s ESG+ framework, one of IHCL’s key focus areas is preserving and promoting India’s intangible cultural heritage. With this objective, IHCL has collaborated with UNESCO to offer experiential tours for travellers at various IHCL hotels, including Taj Bengal, Kolkata.
With UNESCO including Durga Puja on the list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’, guests at Taj Bengal can experience traditional Durga Puja celebrations with all the pomp and fervor that is part of the festivities. Specially curated itineraries offer in-house guests an opportunity to experience the celebrations at Bonedi Bari, an ancestral home in North Kolkata, where Durga Puja has been celebrated uninterrupted since 1757, and visits to the ancestral houses of important Bengali families of the 18th and 19thcentury, who have been crucial to the history of Bengal. Guests can also indulge in an authentic Bengali thali at Sonargaon at Taj Bengal, and go pandal hopping across the city and enjoy the Sandhya Aarti at sundown, accompanied by the traditional Dhunuchi Dance.
IHCL’s collaboration with UNESCO will also allow guests to experience Patachitra–an ancient folk tradition of painting on handmade paper scrolls at Pingla, a unique village of artists close to Kolkata. Guests can learn how the paper canvas and vegetable pigment colours, used to create visual devices for narrating stories and songs, are made by the artisans themselves. Guests can view the paintings that take the form of murals around village walls depicting mythology, folktales, and current events and can also carry some unique art pieces back with them as a souvenir.
Speaking about these unique experiences in collaboration with UNESCO, Mr. Arnab Chatterjee, Hotel Manager, Taj Bengal, Kolkata, stated, “The City of Joy is globally renowned for its unfettered passion for its culture, literature, cuisine, art, and most importantly, Durga Puja. As part of IHCL’s Paathya initiatives, we are delighted to collaborate with UNESCO to conserve and retain the traditional heritage and indigenous crafts of the region, and offer guests an opportunity to experience our centuries-old cultural legacy.”
For more details about IHCL’s collaboration with UNESCO under Paathya, which will see the adoption of 100% of Intangible Cultural Heritage (IHC) projects in the geographies in which the company operates, please visit here.
Derived from the Sanskrit term पथ्य, inferring a path, Paathya aims to lead positive change guided by IHCL’s core values of Trust of all stakeholders, Awareness of the needs of our ecosystem, and Joy at heart. Under Paathya, IHCL will continue to pioneer sustainable practices in its pursuit of excellence and create a benchmark in the tourism industry.
About The Indian Hotels, Company Limited
The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. These include Taj–the iconic brand for the most discerning travellers and ranked as the World’s Strongest Hotel Brand and India’s Strongest Brand as per Brand Finance Hotels 50 Report 2022 and India 100 Report 2022, respectively; selections, a named collection of hotels; Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels; and Ginger, which is revolutionising the lean luxe segment.
Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, the Company opened its first hotel – The Taj Mahal Palace, in Bombay in 1903. IHCL has a portfolio of 242 hotels, including 62 under development globally across 4 continents, 11 countries, and in over 100 locations. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is India’s largest hospitality company in market capitalization. It is primarily listed on the BSE and NSE.
