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Durga Puja Traditions

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How Durga Puja is actually celebrated — the specific practices, described plainly, and how they differ between states and communities.

Durga Puja 2026: 16–20 October 20265 daysदुर्गा पूजा

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How Durga Puja is actually celebrated

Specific practices rather than a general mood.

Pandal-hopping from Saptami through Navami, often late into the night, with crowds and queues at major pandals.
Anjali on Ashtami and Navami, when families offer flowers together to the beat of the dhak.
Kumari Puja on Ashtami, when a young girl is worshipped as Durga.
Sandhi Puja on Ashtami, marking the juncture between Ashtami and Navami, with 108 lamps — the biggest ritual of the five days.
Bhog distribution on Ashtami and Navami, with khichdi, labra and payesh served to everyone who queues.
Dhunuchi naach, the ecstatic dance with a smoking coconut-husk burner, usually performed during the evening aarti.
Sindoor khela on Dashami, when married women apply vermilion to each other and to the goddess before immersion.
The dhak players, hired for the five days, whose drumming defines the festival's rhythm.
Nabapatrika or kalabou, the ritual bathing of nine plants on Saptami as a form of the goddess.

The national version of a festival is usually a compromise. This is the actual picture.

Kolkata & West Bengal
The centre. Over 2,500 community pandals in Kolkata alone, with theme-based installations, crowd management on a scale unusual for a festival, and UNESCO recognition since 2021. Kumartuli's idol makers produce the majority of the idols.
Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand
Durga Puja is a major festival across Assam and in Agartala, and is observed by Bengali communities in Bihar and Jharkhand with pandals and bhog.
Delhi, UP
Large pandals in Delhi's Chittaranjan Park and in Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi's Bengali neighbourhoods. The ritual form follows Kolkata closely.
Bengali diaspora worldwide
Durga Puja is held by Bengali associations in New Jersey, London, Toronto, Dubai, Singapore and dozens of other cities, with the same five-day structure and in several cases full immersion ceremony.