London Durgotsav Committee

2298. Ananda Gupta

Dr Ananda Gupta has been chair of ‘London Durgotsav Committee’ for the last 20 years, a charity that organises events, promotes Bengali culture and increases cultural awareness within communities across the UK. Dr Gupta has particularly been involved in organising Durga Puja (14th Indian event inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity), an annual Hindu festival that celebrates and showcases the heritage of West Bengal, events in Camden, through the charity. The ‘London Durgotsav Committee’s’ annual Durga Puja event is one of the largest in the UK, attended by over 30,000 people in 2018. ‘London Durgotsav Committee’ celebrated Durga Puja in 1963 for the first time in the UK and Europe. Through ‘London Durgotsav Committee’, Dr Gupta also organises events throughout the year including Holi celebrations, Diwali and Saraswati Puja.  

Dr Gupta helped organise the largest Bengali cultural festival ever staged in Britain, the P.C Chandra Ananda Utsav, which took place at Alexandra Palace and is the current Principal of ‘Dakshinayan UK’, which aims to promote Bengali culture and heritage in the UK through Tagore’s music.

The award for Dr Gupta follows the Hindu festival of Holi, celebrating spring, love and new life.

Ananda said:

“I feel extremely delighted and humbled to have been awarded the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award. Celebrating Durga Puja (14th Indian event on UNESCO’s Representative List) as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity here in the United Kingdom is a matter of pride. In a world of diversity, where often our values clash, it feels so good to contribute towards art and culture, festivals and events within the hearts of a diverse population in the United Kingdom.”

Find out more about ‘London Durgotsav Committee