Next: 17 to 20 Oct 2026
Durga Puja
Bengal's great autumn festival: pandals, clay goddesses, drums, and the community on the streets for four days.
When is Durga Puja in 2026?
Durga Puja 2026 runs from 17 to 20 October 2026. Other years: 2027, 6 to 9 October 2027; 2028, 25 to 28 September 2028.
About Durga Puja
Durga Puja turns Kolkata, Dhaka and Bengali neighbourhoods around the world into a city-wide gallery. Artisans build clay images of Durga slaying the buffalo demon, and committees raise pandals, temporary pavilions that are often designed around a theme and are open to everyone. The days open with the dhak drummers and the unveiling of the goddess's eyes, and carry on through morning flower offerings, evening aarti, and the dhunuchi dance with incense burners. On the last day, married women smear vermilion on the goddess and each other in Sindoor Khela, and the images are carried to the river for immersion. In 2021 the festival was added to UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.
Durga Puja dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Durga Puja date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 to 20 October 2026 |
| 2027 | 6 to 9 October 2027 |
| 2028 | 25 to 28 September 2028 |
What is eaten
- bhog khichuri
- luchi
- labra
- rosogolla
- sandesh
Traditions of Durga Puja
Also part of it, and being written: Sindoor Khela (The last-day vermilion greeting among married women.), Dhunuchi (The incense-burner dance performed during aarti.), Kumartuli (The potters' quarter of Kolkata where the images are made.).
More marked on Durga Puja
🇮🇳 Kolkata, India and 1 moreSindur Khelaসিঁদুর খেলা
A Bengali Hindu ritual where married women apply vermilion to each other on Vijayadashami.Festival
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Alpona)
A Bengali floor painting tradition using rice flour paste to mark festivals and rituals.Performance
🇮🇳 Mysuru, India and 2 moreVijayadashamiविजयदशमी (Vijayadaśamī)
A Hindu festival marking the end of Navaratri, celebrating the victory of good over evil across India and Nepal.Festival
🇮🇳 IndiaSanjhi
Autumn devotion honoring a mother goddess and sacred floor art of Radha and KrishnaSpiritual
🇮🇳 Nadia, IndiaDhunachi
A Bengali incense burner, swung in worship and danced with at Durga PujaSpiritual
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBindi
A dot worn between the eyebrows, red for marriage and devotion, worn daily by many womenDress
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर
A red powder worn in the hair parting by many married Hindu womenDress
🇮🇳 India and 2 morePujaपूजा (pūjā)
Hindu worship: light, flowers and food offered to a deity or a guestSpiritual
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Durga Puja" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Vijayadashami: DiplomatTesterMan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pandal: SHUBHAM KR SONI, CC0, source
- Sanjhi: Veer jindal, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sindur Khela: Diganta Talukdar, CC BY 4.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dhunachi: Amitbsws, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bindi: Vinay Sahay, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Puja: Sakkhar21, CC BY-SA 4.0, source