The festival
Durga Puja in Kolkata
Every autumn Kolkata welcomes the goddess Durga home for five days. Neighbourhoods build pandals, artisans unveil idols months in the making, and the whole city comes out to see them. In 2021 UNESCO recognised it as part of the heritage of humanity.
2021
Added to UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
5 days
From Maha Shashthi to Vijaya Dashami
₹32,000 cr
Creative economy around the festival in West Bengal, per a 2019 British Council study
665
Pandals in the Puja Parikrama directory, each with a map and directions
A UNESCO heritage festival
In December 2021, UNESCO inscribed Durga Puja in Kolkata on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The listing recognises not only the worship but the festival as a whole: the art, the craft, the community that makes it, and the way it brings the city together.
“Durga Puja is seen as the best instance of the public performance of religion and art, and as a thriving ground for collaborative artists and designers.”
The festival grew from the household pujas of old Bengali families into the community sarbojanin pujas of the twentieth century, and then into the theme pujas that fill the city today. Read the full story.
What makes it
The para
Most pujas are run by a neighbourhood committee that raises money from its own streets. The puja belongs to the para, and for five days the para is at its best: cooking, decorating, keeping watch at night and welcoming strangers.
Art in the open
Idol makers, pandal designers, lighting artists and craftspeople from across Bengal turn the city into an open-air exhibition. Some pujas keep the traditional single-frame idol; others build a whole world around a theme.
The rituals
Behind the crowds the rites follow the almanac precisely: the bodhon on Shashthi, the nabapatrika bath on Saptami, the Sandhi Puja where Ashtami meets Nabami, and the farewell on Dashami.
Everyone is welcome
Pandals are open to all, and people of every faith and background walk the streets together. Adda with friends, food from roadside stalls and a night spent walking are as much a part of the Puja as the worship.
The days of the Puja, 2026
The countdown starts on Mahalaya, Saturday, 10 October 2026, when Devi Paksha begins and, by tradition, the goddess’s eyes are painted. Then come the five days.
Friday, 16 October 2026
Maha Shashthi
Bodhon: the goddess is formally welcomed and her face is unveiled. Most big pandals open to the public tonight, and the first serious crowds appear after dark.
Sunday, 18 October 2026
Maha Saptami
Kola Bou snan at dawn, when the nabapatrika is bathed in the river and dressed beside Ganesha. From evening onwards the city is properly full.
Monday, 19 October 2026
Maha Ashtami
Pushpanjali through the morning, Kumari Puja at some pandals, and Sandhi Puja at the junction with Navami. The grandest day, and by a distance the most crowded.
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Maha Navami
Navami homa and bhog served through the day. The last full night of celebration, and the one regulars tend to save their energy for.
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Vijaya Dashami
Devi boron and sindoor khela in the morning, then the immersion processions to the ghats. Pandals empty out through the afternoon.