Brands
From pandals to pages Sunrise takes Durga Puja stories to lit fest
MUMBAI: When the drums fade and the lights dim, the stories linger and this year, they found a literary home. ITC Sunrise Spices took Bengal’s biggest festival beyond the pandal and onto the page at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2026, showcasing its landmark grassroots initiative Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon. The project, launched during Durga Puja 2025, captured the festival not as spectacle alone, but as a living archive of emotion, artistry and community memory.
At the heart of the initiative are 250 unique Durga Puja stories, documented from across West Bengal far beyond Kolkata reflecting neighbourhood traditions, local creativity and the diverse regional voices that define the state’s Puja culture. In bringing Pujor Saatkahon to one of India’s most respected literary platforms, Sunrise positioned Durga Puja as a narrative tradition worthy of preservation and discussion.
A key highlight of the festival was a panel discussion titled “Pujo Special: Celebrating the Durga Pujos of Bengal”, held on 11 January 2026 at the Alipore Museum. The session explored how Durga Puja has evolved into a powerful cultural narrative shaped by para-level participation, visual artistry, social themes and collective memory drawing extensively from stories featured in the Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon coffee-table book.
The panel brought together voices from Bengal’s cultural and creative landscape, including Sayantan Maitra, Ushoshi Sengupta, Moon Moon Sen and Tonmoy Roychoudhury. The discussion acknowledged Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon as one of the most expansive grassroots cultural movements around Durga Puja in recent years, notable for documenting the festival beyond visual grandeur and capturing its people-led storytelling core.
The initiative itself involved over 1,500 Durga Puja committees, spanning multiple phases of community participation, voting, on-ground audits and celebrations. These efforts culminated in the release of the Sunrise Pujor Saatkahon book, a lasting tribute to 250 Puja narratives, designed to preserve the festival’s cultural significance long after the idols return home.
Alongside the panel, Sunrise hosted a dedicated stall at the festival, where visitors accessed both physical and digital editions of the book, extending the life of the stories beyond the festive season.
By taking Puja from streets to sentences, Sunrise demonstrated how brands can participate in culture not by amplifying noise, but by archiving meaning turning Bengal’s most beloved celebration into a story that continues to be read, discussed and remembered.
Brands
Safex Group appoints Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer
Former Standard Chartered executive to steer finance
NEW DELHI: Safex Chemicals has appointed Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company prepares for the next phase of expansion in specialty chemicals and global agrochemicals.
In her new role, Malhotra will lead the group’s financial strategy, capital architecture and governance framework as Safex scales operations across multiple verticals including branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing.
A chartered accountant and graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, Malhotra brings more than two decades of experience in business finance, strategic planning, corporate banking and client management.
Before joining Safex, she served as executive director, financial markets at Standard Chartered, where she led teams across India and Sri Lanka and worked closely with large corporates, global subsidiaries and commercial banking clients. Her expertise includes capital structuring, treasury operations, risk management and financial markets led financing solutions.
Safex Group promoter director and joint managing director Piyush Jindal, said the appointment comes at a pivotal time for the company. “Safex stands at an inflection point as we build an integrated platform across branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing. Richa’s experience across global financial institutions will strengthen our financial discipline and help unlock value across the group,” he said.
Malhotra said she was looking forward to contributing to the company’s next chapter of growth. “Safex has built a strong reputation over 35 years with its focus on integrity, innovation and agricultural insight. I am excited to be part of the organisation as it expands its footprint in India and global markets,” she said.
The appointment comes as Safex continues to strengthen its financial foundations and scale operations internationally, positioning itself for future growth milestones.
