Devi Awards 2026: Kolkata honours 11 inspiring women trailblazers

The recently concluded Devi Awards Kolkata 2026 was a success story! Celebrating the achievements of 11 women from different walks of life, Devi Awards brought by The New Indian Express Group is a testament to the power of women and how they contribute to the upliftment of society, despite all odds. This edition of the awards in the city was held at Raajkutir, Kolkata on March 7 and the devis were awarded by Chief Guest Prosenjit Chatterjee and the Editorial Director of The New Indian Express Group, Prabhu Chawla.

The Devi Awards was started in 2014 with the vision to recognise the contributions of women from all walks of life who have triumphed in their fields and uplifted fellow women and men on their journeys. After 38 editions in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, and Chennai, the Devi Awards returned to Kolkata this year to celebrate women achievers from Kolkata and Eastern India.

The 5th edition of Devi Awards in Kolkata honoured path-breaking women

The women who got awarded this year included disability rights activist Aloka Guha, thespian Sohini Sengupta, actress Koel Mallick, textile revivalist Darshan Shah, rugby player Sandhya Rai, entrepreneur Baisakhi Ghosh, author Dipanwita Roy, cremationist Tumpa Das, artist Paula Sengupta, Bharatanatyam exponent Dr Thankamani Kutty and jute revivalist Dr Chaitali Das.

The winners of Devi Awards 2026 held in Kolkata share their reactions to receiving the honour and what it means to be a Devi.

Theatre actor Sohini Sengupta said, “A big thank you to Indulge and The New Indian Express for choosing me to be a part of the Devi Awards and honouring me. I’m absolutely elated! I absolutely love acting and anything to do with the fine arts because I come from a long line of women who are Devis. My grandmother is Meera Mukhopadhyay, the sculptor and my mother is Swatilekha Sengupta, a theatre artist. I am a deep believer in Maa Kaali. I don’t know of all the religious aspects, but for me, a Devi is someone who has many hands and who can manage the home and the world. She never quits, she never complains, and she carries on.”

Darshan Shah, founder of Weavers Studio said, “It’s been such an honour to receive this award. It’s been very encouraging. For me, the Devis are the women of substance, who are resilient, who have been true to their values and principles, their upbringing, they have honed their inner strength, they have fought the demons and come out winners, and they are the ones who are examples, and they are the inspiration to move forward. Devi not only has the 10 hands but she is a multi-tasker, she is extremely strong, empathetic, kind, sentiive and when needed she is ferocious.”

Visual artist Paula Sengupta said, “I am deeply touched to receive this award because, more than a personal acknowledgement, this is an acknowledgement of women in the visual arts. That recognition means a lot to me and my fraternity. I am deeply grateful to the New Indian Express group. I think a Devi for me is the many young women whom I nurture as a teacher, as a mentor who one day blossom into artists themselves. It’s not been easy for women in this field, and there have been 2-3 generartion of female artists before me who have fought a considerable battle against the ghettoisation of women artists. It’s important that the women who I nurture as a practitioner can keep the practise going and find the way forward.

Celebrated Bharatnatyam dancer Thankamani Kutty said, “I am very, very happy that The New Indian Express selected me as an awardee. I am very thankful to everybody. To me, a Devi is every woman.”

Tollywood star Koel Mallick said, “Receiving the Devi Awards is such an honour, it’s a great feeling that women from different walks of life are being awarded. I feel enormously honoured and humbled because I started my career way back and it's been 22 years now, and I'm grateful for all the blessings and love. A Devi for me are all the inspiring women around me who surround me, my thakuma (paternal grandmother), my didima (maternal grandmother), my mother, my didis, boudis (sisters-in-law) and friends who have been Devis of my life. They are inspiring others, making a house a home and working outside as well and making the world more beautiful”

Disability rights activist Aloka Guha said, “It’s a huge pleasure for me to receive an award. Because this is the first time I am receiving an award from a media house, and that too, such a prestigious one. It tells me that what I do is okay, and I should keep doing it. Thank you so much, I will treasure and honour this award. My devi is Mother Teresa, without a doubt!”

Author Dipanwita Roy says, “When I first received news of the Devi Awards, and I realised it’s a recognition of my creative work, I was elated! Especially because I have been a journalist for a ling time and I have received a few awars but not from a media house! So this is very special, it gives me a uniqyue satisfaction. In all my works, media plays an important role so I think this will onspire me in a big way. For most us, a Devi is Durga. But the mother is also the Devi we think of, but someone I respect as a devi is Nabanita DevSen . She left us a few years ago, she has been my professor, my inspiration and has guided me through many paths and has helped me forward,”

Rugby player, Sandhya Roy, “I am very happy that I received this award, because it is so prestigious. I had heard a lot about the Devi Awards and when Irealised I have been chosen I was happy. My Devi is my mother who has supported me from Day 1 and helped my rugby career.”

Entrepreneur Baisakhi Ghosh said, “I would like to thank the New Indian Express team for acknowledging my work. It’s fantastic because when we work we don’t think of anyone acknowledging us, we only give our best. I am my own competition, I always like to do someting better next time, so someone watching you and acknoledging me feels fantastic, the feeing is godly! For me a devi is my mother I have sseen her going though lot of pain, a lot of poverty and come out with a smiling face. This is the way life is. I always think about her when I am in some kind of situation and need to come out of it. Ma kaali and Ma Durga are always with uis and that’s how we denote the word “devi’ and feel the power.”

Crematoirum worker Tumpa Das said, “When I was chosen for Devi Awards, I felt proud, it’s such an esteemed award. I felt honoured, my life only revolves around my family and my work. The fact that I am here and I can receive it, I can’t explain how happy this makes me. My inspiration is my mother, she’s the only one who supported me and my work, even when my family objected to my work. She has always been by my side and is still a big support for me.”

Dr Chaitali Das said, “I am absolutely delighted, and I would like to confer my gratitude to Indulge and the New Indian Express. When I first heard the news, and I was approached by the team, I was delighted! For me, sharing the platform with extraordinary women who are contributing to society with compassion, conviction and courage, I am really grateful. Devi for me is my mother, who has given birth to me; another Devi for me is my sister, who has given me a second birth. Because I am a cancer warrior and it’s because of her that I am before you.”

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