The Guests of Honour at the inauguration were Samik Bhattacharya, State President, BJP West Bengal; Tapas Roy, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of West Bengal; Vijay Ojha, MLA, Jorasanko; Locket Chatterjee, former Member of Parliament; Shishir Bajoria, President Inauguration Committee 2026, Chaltabagan Durga Puja, and industrialist Hari Mohan Bangur.
Conceived by artist Aditi Chakraborty, Nishan traces godna, the tattoo, as an act of faith, protection and quiet protest.
Ramnani Samaj members at Manicktala Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja inauguration in the city. Photo: PR Team
At its heart is the Ramnami Samaj of Chhattisgarh, a devotional community whose members have inscribed the name of Ram across their bodies since the 1890s as a peaceful answer to caste exclusion.
The theme is set to a special composition by Grammy Award winner and Padma Bhushan Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and the committee sums up the journey in one Bengali phrase, ‘Akshar theke Aakar’ — from the letter to the form.
Ramnami, the documentary by Bharatbala Ganapathy, was named Best Hindi Documentary at the 72nd National Film Awards, presented by President Droupadi Murmu on 22 September 2026.
“This puja began 84 years ago in the old iron quarter of Manicktala. This year the nation has honoured the Ramnami Samaj with a National Award, and tonight Kolkata honoured them in its own way.
“With the Hon’ble Governor and our guests beside us, the city walked through the pandal and carried their mark forward,” said Sundeep Bhutoria, Chairman, Chaltabagan Durga Puja.
Locket Chatterjee, Tapash Roy, Sundeep Bhutoria, Shishir Bajoria, H M Bangur, Ashok Jaiswal. Photo: PR Team
Committee officials Ashok Jaiswal, President; Rajesh Bihani, Vice Chairman; and Rajesh Jaiswal, Secretary, welcomed the guests.
Founded in 1943, Chaltabagan is a winner of the Asian Paints Sharad Shamman and the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman remain open to visitors through the Puja days.