Some cities hold on to their past. Calcutta dances with it. And from 19th-21st September 2025, that dance took on a bold new rhythm. Over three extraordinary days, more than 15,000 people gathered for The CCU Festival 2025 – an ambitious celebration that blended culture, innovation, and community-building into one seamless experience.
Held in collaboration with the Kolkata Tattoo Festival 2025, the festival carried the theme of “reverse nostalgia”; a nudge to look at the city’s future through the lens of its roots.
And it worked.
Innovation and Education at the Forefront
This year, the festival wasn’t just about feeling the pulse of the city. It was about shaping it. DSRPT, the AI convention curated by Techno Billion AI turned into a launchpad for serious conversations around technology and its role in education.
A standout session, “From Access to Action: How Can AI Transform Education”, brought together some of the sharpest minds in the field. Sheena Bhalla (Founder, Module Xero), Raja Basu (IBM), Ankush Sabharwal (CoRover.AI & BharatGPT) and Saket Kumar (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur) explored how disruptive technologies such as AI can close learning gaps and empower students.
The conversation wasn’t just theoretical. Students of Techno India University set a world record by building 7,750 AI agents in a single day during the AI Agent Hackathon, a feat that drew applause from across the education and technology ecosystem. The hackathon, backed by a ₹1,00,000 prize pool, became a defining moment — not just for the university but for a city that’s steadily carving a place on the innovation map.
A Festival That Spoke the Language of Startups
One of the boldest experiments at this year’s festival was STRTUP – a dynamic pitchfest designed to give young founders not just visibility, but a real shot at growth.
On Day 1, more than 30 mentors worked closely with aspiring entrepreneurs, helping them refine their ideas and pitches. The energy shifted gears on Day 2, when serial entrepreneur and pitch master Skannd Tyagi hosted India’s first-ever startup auction.
In a format that mixed theatre, speed, and ambition, founders were given just 90 seconds to pitch their idea – after which investors placed bids for exclusive conversations. This was proof of how quickly Calcutta’s entrepreneurial landscape is evolving.
Day 3 turned that energy into tangible opportunities, as investors met founders behind closed doors for deeper discussions. Three startups – Byelaw AI, Keyshade, and Ex – emerged with serious investor interest, making it clear that the festival is fast becoming more than a cultural gathering. It’s turning into a launchpad.
A City’s Creative Pulse
The festival wasn’t all business. It celebrated Calcutta’s deep artistic soul with the same fervour. The Kolkata Tattoo Festival, the largest of its kind in India, brought together tattoo artists from across the world. Over three days, intricate designs and Calcutta-themed motifs turned bodies into canvases, with a fundraising initiative supporting the Garden Reach Institute for the Rehabilitation and Research of the Handicapped.
From the elegant vintage car rally led by the Classic Drivers Club to workshops, sustainability conversations, and high-energy dance battles, the city was buzzing with creative collisions. Evenings belonged to laughter and music: from the funniest sets by Shamik Chakrabarti and Aakash Gupta to the electric energy of Hooligaanism; the soul-stirring performance by Bipul Chettri and The Travelling Band, and finally, a grand closing act curated by percussion legend and maestro Bickram Ghosh, featuring collaborators from across the globe.
Ideas in Conversation
Another defining layer of the festival was its conversation spaces — small, thoughtful gatherings that asked big questions.
Fireside chats brought together voices like His Excellency Juan Antonio March Pujol (Spanish Ambassador to India), Sunil Kanoria (Member, Kanoria Foundation and Former Vice Chairman, Srei Infrastructure), and Meghdut RoyChowdhury (CIO and Executive Director, Techno India Group & Founder, Make Calcutta Relevant Again), followed by the gaming convention CONQR and the launch of Techno India University’s E-Sports hub. The next fireside chat – “From Storytelling to Building Influence” withJonathan Rives (Poet, TEDX Speaker Coach), Yashraj Akashi (Senior Ambassador, TED Founder, EDGE Community) and Meghdut RoyChowdhury delved into the intersections of gaming, innovation, and community.
These weren’t ornamental panels – they were practical, sometimes provocative discussions that reflected a city rethinking its role in a changing world.
More Than a Festival
For Meghdut RoyChowdhury, the founder of Make Calcutta Relevant Again, this year’s festival was a personal milestone.
“This festival is proof that Calcutta is not just about nostalgia; it is about the future we can build together. To see 15,000+ optimists gather under one roof was overwhelming. A dream I dreamt of seeing our beloved city Calcutta take centre stage is now propelling real action on the ground and gaining traction with every passing day, and that’s what makes me proudest.”
“What makes The CCU Festival so special is that it doesn’t look at art, culture, business, and sustainability in silos. It brings them together in one living ecosystem. This spirit of interconnectedness and collaboration is what will carry Calcutta forward, keeping the city true to its roots while opening new pathways for a more responsible and inclusive future.”
“We started with a dream to bring the world’s tattoo community to Kolkata, and today we see that dream alive and thriving. The art, the energy, the camaraderie; it’s been nothing short of magical.”
Niloy Das
The CCU Festival 2025 was a city-wide declaration of intent – that Calcutta can hold on to its heritage without being trapped by it, that it can nurture art and ambition in the same breath, and that its next chapter will be written not in the past tense, but in the present continuous.
The festival ended, but the conversations, collaborations, and sparks it created are still alive – exactly as Calcutta intended.
