Durga Puja: Celebrations, Traditions, and Regional Variations Across India

When you think of Durga Puja, a major Hindu festival honoring the goddess Durga, celebrated with elaborate idols, music, and community feasts, especially in eastern India. Also known as Sharadotsav, it’s not just a religious event—it’s a cultural explosion that brings neighborhoods together in dance, drama, and devotion. Unlike quiet temple rituals, Durga Puja turns streets into stages. Temples become art galleries. Families become performers. And for ten days, the whole city breathes in incense, drumbeats, and the scent of fresh flowers.

While it’s most famous in Bengal, the Indian state where Durga Puja is a state-wide holiday, with over 50,000 pandals in Kolkata alone, the festival isn’t limited to one region. In Tamil Nadu, Durga Puja is often merged with Karthigai Deepam or celebrated quietly in temples, without the massive public pandals seen in the east. Meanwhile, in Navaratri, a nine-night festival that shares roots with Durga Puja, celebrated across Gujarat and Maharashtra with garba dances and fasting, the focus is more on daily worship than on idol immersion. Durga Puja is the grand finale of Navaratri in Bengal, but elsewhere, it’s just one part of a longer cycle of devotion.

What makes Durga Puja stick? It’s not just the goddess. It’s the clay idols carved by generations of artisans. It’s the songs sung by school kids who’ve never met a real Durga statue but know every line of the aarti. It’s the food—luchi, alur dom, and rosogolla—passed down like family secrets. It’s the fact that even non-Hindus join in, because in Bengal, Durga Puja isn’t about religion—it’s about belonging. And that’s why, even as the world changes, the festival grows. New generations bring Instagram photos, eco-friendly idols, and fusion music, but the heart stays the same: a mother goddess returning home, and a whole community ready to welcome her.

Below, you’ll find real stories and deep dives into how Durga Puja is lived—not just observed. From how Tamil families quietly honor the goddess to why Kolkata’s pandals cost millions, and what the rise of vegan prasad says about modern devotion. These aren’t just articles. They’re snapshots of a living tradition.