The online Durga, Kerstin Andersson 070605,
[email protected] THE ONLINE DURGA Kerstin Andersson, Dept of Social Anthropology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Abstract The paper focuses on the role of the new ICT technologies in the creation, formation and maintenance of a Diaspora identity among the Kolkata intellectuals. Among the Kolkata intellectuals migration has been a common feature since the end of the 19th century. In contemporary Kolkata, almost every family in this category has one or several relatives living in the Diaspora. Satellite TV and the ICT technologies that entered the arena during the last decades have got an increasing importance among those groups. The new technologies affect the flow of ideas and gives way to new global forms of interaction. Access to new forms of communication alters identities and social forms, the relationship to the home country changes. The flow of religious and cultural expressions increases. Kolkata Websites have become the major channel for news, information and contact. Virtual communities and networks have appeared. Religious and symbolic forms of expression alter and are re- configured. For example the Durga puja ritual has become a major icon for Diaspora unity and identity among the Kolkata intellectuals. Pictures from all the puja sites in Kolkata are displayed and anjali offerings to the goddess are performed online. The paper is based on fieldwork made in Kolkata in 2000-2001. Introduction This paper will explore the role of the new ICT technologies in the creation, formation and maintenance of a Diaspora identity among Kolkata intellectuals.i In the 90ies the new information and communication technologies exploded.