Make Calcutta Relevant Again held its first ever edition of the much awaited CCU Festival on the 29th of October at Taalkutir Convention, New Town. The idea behind “Make Calcutta Relevant Again” was developed by Meghdut Roychowdhury, Chief Innovation Officer of Techno India Group, and Ms. Pauline Laravoire, Co-Founder and CEO of Y-East and Director of Sustainability of Techno India Group. The day long festivities aimed at envisioning a creative and disruptive platform that highlights Kolkata’s uniqueness while working to restore and even surpass its glory in many areas.
A dance performance by Chhou dancers opened the opening session of The CCU Festival at Taal Kutir Convention Center, Eco Tourism Park. The logo was unveiled by Prof. Manoshi Roychowdhury, Co-Chairperson, Techno India Group, Mr. Debasish Sen, IAS (Retired), Chairman, NKDA and Managing Director, WBHIDCO; Mr. Sujit Bose, MIC Fire and Emergency Services, Government of West Bengal and MLA of Bidhannagar; and Mr. Sujit Bose. The fourteen events across sixteen hours was an audio visual treat for the people in the city of joy.
“Kolkata is infused with real time cases of innovation, sports, good living, art and culture in all imaginable fields. ‘Make Calcutta Relevant Again’ is proud to curate and launch The CCU Festival”
Meghdut Roychowdhury, Organizer
In an interview with Meghdut Roychowdhury, he provided an intrinsic insight into the foundations of the CCU festival, expressing his desire to usher in a new era in the social, cultural and developmental fronts of Kolkata. “Kolkata is infused with real time cases of innovation, sports, good living, art and culture in all imaginable fields. ‘Make Calcutta Relevant Again’ is proud to curate and launch The CCU Festival that endeavours to revive the lost glory of Calcutta by shining a light on stories that the world should sit up and take notice of. It is an attempt to celebrate Calcutta like never before and discover new icons across disciplines.”
Perhaps one of the most interesting events was Floptch,- the start up exhibition and pitch deck. Additionally, 80 investors from all over the country, including UpSparks, Antennae Ventures, Anthill, Antler, Kalaari Capital, ARC Group, Hyderabad Angels, The Chennai Angels, Madwadi Catalysts, Veda VC, StartupXseed, Astir Ventures, N+1 Capital, Lead Angels, Inflexor Ventures, Bajai VC, Founder’s Room Capital, Connexdoor and Westbridge Capital set foot in the city of joy for the first time to evaluate and assess entrepreneurial ventures. An additional noteworthy aspect of the event was the launch of the “Moving Kolkata, Kolkata Moving” Project, an EU-funded initiative specifically powered by EUNIC Global, European Spaces of Culture, and further supported and implemented by the Embassy of Spain in India, Instituto Cervantes, the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata, General Consulates of Germany and Italy, Alliance Française, British Council, and Y-East. These foreign partners have come specifically to celebrate Kolkata, especially from the perspective of the city’s sustainability, according to Ms. Pauline Laravoire, Co-Founder & CEO, Y-East, & Sustainability Director, Techno India Group.
The day long festivities that included flea markets, live music and busking along with their in-house special of Motor Cortex, an exemplary EDM conclave. CCU festival was graced by names such as cricketer Sourav Ganguly, Olympian Joydeep Karmakar, actor Neel Bhattacharjee as well as music legend Amyt Datta. The night ended with the EDM performances and the VIP Networking dinner that saw some of the biggest industry leaders talk shop over delectable food from Taalkutir Convention centre. The CCU festival was a revolutionary event that reimagined Kolkata and displayed the heart and soul of the city of Joy and one can eagerly wait for their return in the upcoming year.
