When Celebration in Kolkata Becomes a Lesson on Universal Design

In a path-breaking move to break barriers in cultural participation, for the first time, 24 Durga Puja pandals were made accessible for persons with disabilities in Kolkata this year. For a city that reverberates with and lives on Durga Pujo, this effort redefined celebration-entwining art, empathy, and accessibility into one seamless experience. It was born as a pilot project led by massArt in collaboration with UNESCO, IIT Kharagpur, and the United Nations, with this simple yet profound vision: making the world's largest public art festival universally accessible. 

Ramps and lifts came up on temporary structures, Braille signage guided visitors, QR codes gave access to sign language interpretation, and calm zones came into being for those wanting relief from the festive crowd. Each thoughtful addition spoke volumes, turning inclusion into life. During the recording of Make Calcutta Relevant Again, educationist and planner Dr. Haimanti Banerji spoke about how the movement took shape, along with sign language educator Priyanka Ghosh and United Nations Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp. Priyanka Ghosh pointed to another critical dimension: that of emotional accessibility. 

According to her, from the training of volunteers to the availability of interpreters, inclusivity has ceased to be merely about physical access and grown into domains of communication and belonging. From the perspective of global policy, Shombi Sharp framed the initiative within the guiding promise of the UN- "to leave no one behind". But his most striking reflection came from the story of a father who, for the first time, took his 17-year-old daughter, a wheelchair user, to a Durga Puja pandal. For them, it was not just a visit-it was participation, a shared moment which made accessibility a matter of joy. 

At this crossroad of design and humanity, Kolkata offers a new vocabulary for relevance. In truth, the city's experiment in accessible celebration shows us how art, education, and urban design combine in teaching society empathy-not as charity but as culture. Because when inclusion becomes integral in how a community celebrates, then festivals evolve into powerful civic classrooms-teaching us not only how to build better spaces but, more important still, how to become better people.