India, the land of holy places, rituals, festivals and rivers experiences different aspects of life mostly infused with religious rites, gestures and meanings. The seasons are marked with different festivals and the coming of autumn in India especially for the Bengali community marks the beginning of the largest festival, the Durga Puja. Out of the long list of colorful festivals in India, Navratri and Durga Puja are celebrated with a zeal that gives an experience that you will not find anywhere else.

The beauty of this festival can be experienced all over India, and if you are in Kolkata, you are blessed to experience something that you will cherish forever. Durga Pooja rituals start with the unique philharmonic of conch shells, the “UluDhyani” (tongue sounds by Bengali women), the rhythms of drums and the burning of incense along with the charismatic sounds of hymns and prayers mark the Durga Puja Celebration.

The Celebration of Good over Evil
Durga Puja is celebrated to mark the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasur. Durga Puja is celebrated in the last five days of Navratri when it is believed that Goddess Durga leaves her heavenly abode and visits Earth each year. The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and it is an occasion where especially the Bengali families come together from round the globe to West Bengal to celebrate with their friends and family.

The Special Durga Puja Pandals
The major attraction of the celebration is the “Pandals”, that is a temporary pavilion made as a place of worship where the different rituals and ceremonies take place. You will find a Pandal in every neighborhood in Kolkata as well as Bengali dominant areas in rest of the India. The beautifully decorated Pandals consist of Goddess Durga with eight or ten arms with the defeated demon beneath. Usually the Goddess idol is accompanied by the idols of Lord Ganesh and Lord Karthik (Goddess Durga’s Sons) and her Daughters Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati. The idols are decorated richly with jewelry and flower garlands.

Small or big, the decoration, the zeal and the enthusiasm of celebration is worth experiencing. If you are in Kolkata or any part of West Bengal, be ready to experience some of the best moments of the festival. Durga Puja concludes with the “visarjan” of the idols which means bidding farewell to Goddess Durga immersing the idols in the holy river.

If you are planning to witness this auspicious time of festival, then here is some vital information for you.

Which Time of the Year?
Durga Puja us held around the period of the Dussehra and Diwali festivals in India, expected in the months of October and November.