Durga Puja

The grand worship of Goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura. Famous for elaborate themed pandals, artistic idols, and immersion processions, especially in Kolkata.

Honors Goddess Durga's epic victory over the shape-shifting buffalo demon, symbolizing the ultimate restoration of cosmic balance and female empowerment.

Kolkata transforms into a temporary, city-wide art gallery. Neighborhood committees construct elaborate temporary pavilions featuring avant-garde installations and massive clay idols.

Begins with an invocation. Features worshipping a young girl as the goddess. Concludes with women smearing vermillion and the immersion of idols in the river.

Durga is viewed not just as a fierce warrior, but as a beloved daughter returning to her maternal home for a few days. The emotional immersion ceremony symbolizes her return to Mount Kailash.

Patronised at first by wealthy landlords in the 16th century, it passed in the 20th century to community-funded pujas and became a public art form without equal.

Durga Puja is an open-air art exhibition on a colossal scale, wrapped in intense devotion. Millions of people take to the streets of Kolkata, walking from one jaw-dropping artistic installation to another. The air vibrates continuously with the hypnotic, frantic rhythm of the traditional drums. You will witness joyous dances performed with smoking clay pots of coconut husk and camphor, and be swept up in an atmosphere of incredible communal joy and artistic wonder.