Puja organisers from abroad explore global business avenues for local artists
Times of India | 23 December 2025
Kolkata: Buoyed by the surge in global interest in Durga Puja and Bengal following Unesco's cultural heritage tag, at least 25 puja organisers from 20-odd countries, including Japan, Nigeria, Oman, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, UK and US participated in the 2nd Bengal Global Connect Meet (BGCM), 2025, on Monday to discuss possible business opportunities for local artists and artisans at the festival abroad.
The event was spearheaded by Heritage Bengal Global and The Global Connect. "We floated the twin concept to give global exposure to puja pandal artisans and light-makers. This will help the Bengali diaspora get the native flavour of the festival abroad," said Anirban Mukhopadhyay, president, Heritage Bengal Global. The meet saw the launch of BANI, a business aggregator platform designed to channel NRI wealth and corporate leadership into state's business ecosystem. "Our aim is to give a fillip to MSMEs here, by giving them a global market," he said. It will help pandal makers, who fall under MSME sector.
Chandan Roy Choudhury, secretary of Calcutta Rowing Club (CRC), where the event was held, said, "I coordinated for the Thames Durga Puja Parade that turned a big hit. BGCM is a good initiative as Bengalis across the world are coming together to uphold Bengal's cultural heritage."
TOI recently reported on how the Unesco tag led Bengal to have the second highest foreign tourist influx in the country.
"We are exploring avenues to give a global dimension to artisans linked to Durga Puja," said Sudip Roychoudhury, a member of the advisory committee.
Ten puja organisers here, including Ahiritola Jubak Brinda, Bhowanipore 75 Palli, Simla Bayam Samity, Hatibagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav and Ballygunge Cultural Association, also joined the meet.
Sohini Roy, working president of Simla Bayam Samity, said, "Hurdles like sponsorships needs to be overcome." Entrepreneur Ashish Gupta was showcased as an example of how MSMEs can scale up their business globally. Ashish runs his grandfather's puja item shop and an online platform to connect with the Bengali diaspora abroad "I sell puja items to people in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, Indonesia on pujadukaan.com," he said.