National, 12 January 2026: ITC Sunrise Spices participated in the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2026, bringing its one of the largest grassroots initiative, ‘Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon’ to one of India’s most respected literary platforms. Launched during Durga Puja 2025, the initiative celebrated Bengal’s biggest festival not merely as a spectacle, but as a living tapestry of stories, emotions and community spirit, capturing and preserving 250 unique Puja narratives from across West Bengal, moving beyond Kolkata to reflect the diverse regional voices and grassroots celebrations that define Durga Puja across the state.
Recognised for celebrating literature, heritage and contemporary cultural conversations, the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival brought together writers, artists, thinkers and cultural voices on one platform. Within this setting, Durga Puja was explored as a powerful cultural story through the lens of Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon.
As part of the festival, a special panel discussion titled “Pujo Special: Celebrating the Durga Pujos of Bengal” was held on 11th January 2026 at the Alipore Museum. The session explored how Durga Puja has evolved as a powerful cultural narrative shaped by neighbourhoods, artistry, social themes and collective memory along with the stories documented in the Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon coffee table book. The discussion highlighted how each para, idol and theme carried a unique narrative, reflecting Bengal’s creativity, social consciousness and collective pride.
The panel featured an eminent line-up of speakers from Bengal’s cultural and creative landscape:
- Sayantan Maitra, VP – Mass Art, curator, cultural entrepreneur, architect and scenographer
- Ushoshi Sengupta, Actress
- Moon Moon Sen, Actress
- Tonmoy Roychoudhury, Voice-over artist, presenter and former radio jockey
During the discussion, the Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon initiative was acknowledged as one of the most extensive grassroots cultural movements around Durga Puja in recent times, noted for documenting the festival beyond visual grandeur and capturing it as a rich archive of community-led stories from across the state.
Launched during Durga Puja 2025, the initiative brought together over 1,500 Durga Puja committees through multiple phases of storytelling, community participation, voting, on-ground audits and celebrations, culminating in the launch of the ‘Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon’ cultural coffee table book, a tribute to 250 Puja stories that continue to preserve the memories and cultural significance of the festival long after the pandal lights dimmed and the idols returned home.
Mr. Piyush Mishra, Business Head, ITC Spices, said, “Through Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon, we aimed to capture the spirit of Bengal’s Durga Puja – its creativity, emotion and community pride. Our participation at Kolkata Literary Festival 2026 reinforces the brand’s long-standing relationship with Bengal, celebrating not just flavours, but heritage, creativity and community while further catapulting Durga Puja as a living narrative to be preserved, discussed and celebrated on literary platforms.”
In addition to the panel discussion, Sunrise Spices also hosted a dedicated Sunrise Stall at the festival, where visitors engaged with the initiative and accessed hard and soft copies of the ‘Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon’ book, further extending the reach of the stories captured during Durga Puja.
