Mahalaya · Saturday, 10 October 2026
Mahalaya 2026, live from Eden Gardens
West Bengal opens its Durga Puja tonight at Eden Gardens, with 3,000 dhakis, 3,000 drones over the stadium and dance from all 23 of the state’s districts. Entry is by invitation, so most of Kolkata is watching the broadcast. You can watch it here.
Broadcast by the Government of West Bengal on the Durga Puja West Bengal YouTube channel.
On the programme
3,000 dhakis
The dhak is the sound of Pujo arriving. Tonight three thousand of them play together inside the stadium.
3,000 drones
A drone show over Eden Gardens, drawing the festival in points of light across the night sky.
Dance from 23 districts
Dancers from every one of West Bengal’s 23 districts bring their own folk and classical forms.
Red Road
The broadcast also carries the cultural performance on Red Road, beside the Maidan.
Watching tonight
Watch it here
Press play above, or open it in the YouTube app. The same link carries the recording once the programme is over.
The stadium is by invitation
Entry to Eden Gardens tonight is for invited guests. The state government was reported to be planning screenings at 35 places in the city, but has not published the list.
Around the Maidan
Expect closures around Eden Gardens and Red Road this evening. Eden Gardens station on the Circular Railway is beside the stadium; for Red Road, take the metro to Maidan or Esplanade.
Mahalaya, and the days to come
Mahalaya is the new moon that closes Pitri Paksha, the fortnight of the ancestors, and opens Devi Paksha, the fortnight of the goddess. Before dawn Kolkata woke to Mahishasuramardini on Akashvani, and through the morning people offered tarpan at the ghats of the Hooghly.
The pandals open in earnest on Maha Shashthi, Friday, 16 October 2026, when the goddess’s face is unveiled and the five days of Pujo begin.